Legacy
by Peonywinx
Summary: Wally West is the third speedster to be known as the Flash. However, when a new villain shows up, matching him speed for speed, he realizes there's much he still doesn't know about the legacy he has inherited. But that will soon change...as he struggles against his newest enemy, he will come to learn what it truly means to be the Fastest Man Alive.
1. Scarlet Speedster

_**A/N: Man, it feels good to be back! Hello again, dear Diamond Earth readers, and welcome to the fourth installment of this epic new readers, welcome as well, and here's a quick intro for your understanding.  
**_

_**Diamond Earth is the DC universe I've built for a whole range of stories. **Legacy **is the fourth such story. At this point, it isn't really necessary for you to have read the preceding three fics to understand what's going on here, but there are allusions to the previous stories, and it might be more fun if you have prior knowledge of the plots beforehand that enable you to spot the little clues here that build on those plotlines. ****I am Peonywinx, the author, and for this fic I will be guiding you through the backstory of the Flash family.**_

_**So, let us begin...**_

* * *

**TALES OF DIAMOND EARTH  
**

Legacy

**Chapter One: Scarlet Speedster**

The freezing blast of liquid nitrogen shot past Flash and turned the display case behind him into a block of solid ice. Flash threw a glance backwards.

"Aw, jeez, Cold – you just froze eighty thousand dollars' worth of diamonds."

Leonard Snart, a.k.a. Captain Cold, supervillain and Central City Rogue, scowled at his resident hero's customarily flippant tone as he readjusted the settings on his cold gun.

"Just keep talking, Flash – it's gonna be _you_ on the ice soon." He took aim and squeezed the trigger, sending another icy stream at the Scarlet Speedster.

Flash zipped away from the line of danger and reappeared a few feet to Captain Cold's right. "You know that's not gonna hit me, right?"

"True," Cold conceded. He shot at Flash again and then, quick as thought, pointed his gun at the floor and fired.

Flash, as he ran to avoid the first blast, slipped on the layer of ice that formed on the floor and went skidding into a wall. While he was occupied, Cold wasted no time filling his pockets with valuable diamonds. However, he was not able to get out the door before Flash recovered.

"All right, I'll give it to you – that's a good trick," the speedster said graciously as he appeared in front of the door, blocking Cold's way. "Still, didn't keep me down for long."

Captain Cold moved his hand, but Flash was faster; he'd whipped the villain's cold gun out of his hand before he could blink. Seconds later, he followed up with a right cross to Cold's jaw.

"For Pete's sake, Cold, what the blazes is taking you so long?" Captain Boomerang grumbled as he approached the jewelry store from the side entrance. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the Flash smirking at him. "Aw, crud…"

"If you're looking for Len, he's out cold." Flash pointed to the unconscious Captain Cold, grinning at his own joke. Within the blink of an eye, he was next to Captain Boomerang, and a second later, after a well-placed blow to the head, the Australian rogue was down for the count too. "And now, so are you."

* * *

It wasn't long before the Central City police came to take custody of the two Rogues.

"Thanks again, Flash," Officer Fred Chyre said as his colleagues hauled the unconscious villains away.

"Don't mention it," Flash replied easily. "I couldn't let Dee Dee's go out of business – where else would people get their engagement rings?"

Chyre snorted. He handed Flash three small, round, white capsules. "We took these from Captain Cold's pocket."

Flash peered at the little tablets. "What are they?"

"Morillo thinks they're freeze pellets. Throw 'em at a target and they ice it up instantly. We're taking most of them back to HQ to analyze, but I figured you might want to hang on to a few, just in case."

"Thanks." Flash pocketed the pellets, then checked his watch. "Oh, man."

"Got somewhere to be?" Chyre queried.

"Uh-huh. I gotta go. See you around, Chyre – say hi to Morrillo for me." The next instant, Flash was gone.

Chyre walked back to his squad car, where Captains Cold and Boomerang were being guarded in the backseat by Jared Morillo, who acknowledged Chyre's arrival with a nod. Chyre gave the backseat a once-over to make sure everything was as it should be before starting the car.

"Next stop: Iron Heights Penitentiary."

* * *

"Crap. Crap, crap, crap, _crap_." Flash zoomed across Central City, wondering how ironic it would be for the Fastest Man Alive to be late for work…again.

Wally had only been working as a forensic scientist with the CCPD for a little over a year now, but his quick work, keen eye, and high intelligence had made him a fairly well-respected figure in the lab. He also had plenty of friends – his cheerfulness, good humor, and friendliness endeared him to all his colleagues. Unfortunately, Wally also had a reputation for tardiness – a side-effect of his obligations within the Justice League.

The League had come a long way since that fateful day at the Metropolis baseball stadium. Despite being only a year old, the team was already a household name – perhaps not without reason, as they had averted many crises both on Earth and in space. It seemed as though the universe had just been waiting for a group of superheroes to come together to solve its problems, because Wally had lost count of how many missions they'd run in the past year – from fighting numerous supervillains in various cities, to aiding disaster relief efforts, to maintaining the protection they each gave their individual home cities, their job was never done.

Hence why Wally, despite being able to travel at and above the speed of sound, tended to be late for work on a fairly regular basis.

Today, however, he was lucky enough to reach the lab just half a minute before his clock-in time. Ten seconds later, he had changed from his Flash costume into a light green shirt and jeans. Swiping his ID card along the scanner, he grabbed his lab coat from its hook and shrugged it on as he made his way into the lab proper.

"Perfect timing, West," Anna Smith told him when he walked through the door. "The evidence from the Henderson crime scene just arrived." She jerked her head towards the box sitting on the table before turning back to the microscope she'd been staring into.

"Morning to you too, Anna." Wally pulled on a pair of sterile white surgical gloves and immediately got to work. He was in the middle of examining a hair fiber he'd pulled off a shirt when his boss entered the room.

"Made it on time today, then, Wally?" Barry Allen asked with a wink.

Grinning, Wally turned to face his uncle. "Only just," he admitted.

Barry chuckled knowingly. "Well, keep that up, and we might make an investigator out of you yet. Anna, have the results come back on that powder?"

"See for yourself," Anna said, gesturing towards the microscope.

As Barry obliged her, Wally turned back to his own forensics. Wally considered himself extremely fortunate that his supervisor was his uncle. Barry knew full well why he was so often late, so any awkward questions were avoided. Nevertheless, Barry had a duty as a boss, and despite the fact that he had helped Wally get his job at the station, he was not one to show favoritism simply because Wally was his nephew – so he made sure Wally's lateness was sufficiently dealt with, within reasonable bounds. Wally didn't mind – he knew Barry had a job to do, and so did he – thus, he never complained if he received a telling-off or was assigned extra shifts to make up for missed work time; the case of the former was rare and usually for show, not only because Barry knew of Wally's activities as the Flash, but also because Wally was a genuinely good worker and everyone in the lab knew he wasn't late on purpose.

Wally tried to keep his grin under control as he thought about the surprise that was waiting in store for Barry tonight. Wally and Iris had planned it together, and it simply wouldn't do for his uncle to find out before time – which he certainly would if he saw his nephew grinning like a maniac while examining fibers.

* * *

Iris West Allen hummed merrily to herself as she drove her car into her designated spot in the _Picture News _station's parking lot, wondering what stories she would be sent out to cover today. As she got out of her car, she felt a rush of wind pass her by. Normally, the average person would have dismissed this as a freak of nature, but the citizens of Central and Keystone had long since learned that such a precise path of air was the trail caused by their resident Scarlet Speedster – and Iris, as the wife of one Flash and the aunt of another, knew it well enough to smile and shake her head fondly at her nephew's antics.

_Probably forgot the candles for tonight, _she mused to herself, walking into her workplace.

If she had bothered to call Wally – or Barry, for that matter – she would have known that he was, at that very moment, mixing a chemical solution in the Central City Crime Lab, and therefore could not possibly have run past her on an errand to the supermarket.

But Iris West Allen didn't even think to question that quick draft, and so she remained blissfully unaware that her entire world was about to be turned upside down.

* * *

_Fred Chyre and Jared Morillo are actual characters from the comics. They were partners and detectives with the Keystone City Department of Metahuman Hostility – Chyre was a 50-something cop with anger issues and Morillo was a younger detective with an extremely caustic tongue. Both have worked with the Flash (Wally West) on occasion. Their incarnations in Diamond Earth are regular police officers; they have somewhat toned down personalities, but there are still certain similarities they share with their comic counterparts. _

**_A/N: And that is chapter one. This story is fifteen chapters long, so you'll be having updates everyday for just over two weeks. Are you excited yet? ;)_**


	2. Birthday Bash

_**A/N: Thanks to my reviewers **Kyer, leathman, **and **Invader Abigail**, as well as to those who favorited or subscribed. Hopefully this trend will continue throughout the story ;)**_

* * *

**Chapter Two: Birthday Bash**

"Uncle Barry, get the door, would ya?" Wally called from the dining room as the buzzer sounded.

_Gee, kid, obvious much? _Barry thought wryly as he marked the page in the book he was reading and started towards the door. He knew his wife and nephew were planning a surprise birthday celebration for him, of course – he wasn't clueless. The minute he and Wally had gotten home from work, the latter had disappeared into the kitchen to help Iris prepare dinner – although how the duo thought they could keep it a secret when Wally had made no effort to hide his 'sly' grins all day, Barry had no idea.

Still, it turned out the real surprise was waiting for him on the front porch – because when Barry pulled open the door, he found three very familiar faces smiling widely at him.

"Happy birthday, Barry," Diana greeted warmly, giving him a hug.

"Thanks, Di." Barry looked at his other visitors – one was blond-haired and blue-eyed, looking as youthful as he did over a quarter of a century ago. "Kent – I almost didn't recognize you without your helmet," he joked.

"Inza made me leave it at home," the sorcerer replied good-humoredly.

Barry looked puzzled. "Wait, then how did you…"

"I picked him up," Diana interjected. "Ted, too."

"I figured." Barry grinned at his other guest, a middle-aged man with hair still dark and eyes that remained bright and sharp. "Hey, Ted. How are you?"

Ted Grant shrugged. "Fine."

"You sure look it," Barry agreed. "You must be going on sixty-five by now, but you don't look more than forty."

"I have nine lives," Ted replied. "Now would you quit hogging the doorway? Some of us would like to go in."

"Ah, you haven't changed, Ted."

"Neither have you." Ted patted him on the shoulder as they went inside. "It's good to see you again, Barry. What are you, fifty now?"

"Fifty-five, actually." Barry grinned. "Why? Do I look that old?"

"Nah, I'm just guessing. Truth be told, anybody would think this is only your thirtieth birthday, from the way you look."

It was true. Barry, as a Flash, was linked to the Speed Force – a parallel dimension that moved at the speed of light and was the source of his and Wally's powers. The Speed Force poured living energy into anyone connected to it; as such, Barry looked much younger than his actual age.

The former Flash shrugged. "What can I say? You have your nine lives, Di's got Amazon immortality, Kent uses sorcery – and I'm linked to the Speed Force. Guess we all look younger than we have a right to."

Ted grunted. "Where's that nephew of yours? He's the one who invited me to this party, and I still haven't met him."

"Aw, way to spoil the surprise, Mr. Grant," Wally complained, appearing suddenly.

"Wally, meet Ted Grant, Wildcat," Diana introduced. "Ted, this is Wally."

"Hi," Wally said.

"Yeah, hi." Ted squinted at Wally critically. "Kid, I hope you know what you got yourself into when you followed your uncle's footsteps."

"What?" Wally asked, nonplussed.

"Oh, Ted, not now…" Diana protested.

"He should know what it means, Diana." Ted turned back to Wally. "I'm telling you straight, Wally – you're the third person to take up the mantle of the Flash. You're young, you're idealistic, and like your uncle over here" – he nodded at Barry – "you can't stay still. You're good at what you do, I'll give you that – but I know how easy it is to get cocky and complacent."

"Um…" Wally began.

"Let me give you one piece of advice, kid: don't. Don't get cocky, don't get overconfident, don't think you can handle everything that comes your way. Remember that the first guy we called Flash died doing what you do."

"Jay Garrick." Wally nodded.

"Right. So play it smart, and you'll have a better chance of surviving."

"Um…thank you?"

"Morbid as always, aren't you, Ted?" Barry sounded wry as he asked, "Don't you think I'd have told Wally all this myself when he became Flash?"

"You knowI don't have a very high opinion of your survival skills, Barry," Ted retorted. "You were always one for flippant remarks in the heat of battle – damn near gave me a heart attack watching you taunt a guy thrice your size when you were standing right in front of his claws. I honestly don't know how you've lived as long as you have."

"Claws?" Wally questioned.

"It's a long story." Kent waved a hand dismissively. "Did you impart these pearls of wisdom to Dinah as well, Ted?" he asked Ted.

"You'd better believe it."

"Excuse Ted, Wally," Diana interjected, "He's always been overly cautious. It's his nature – but it's saved our lives on several occasions as well."

"He still needs to lighten up." Barry slapped Ted on the back. "Come on, buddy – it's my birthday. Enjoy it for me?"

Ted sighed in a longsuffering manner, but there was a clear twinkle in his black eyes.

"Dinner's ready," Iris called, setting a large dish down on the dining table. "Wally, can you bring out the other plates?"

"Sure thing, Aunt Iris." Wally flashed to the kitchen and back several times within a minute, and all of a sudden everything was ready for them to eat.

"How did you prevent spillage?" Kent inquired as he seated himself, noting that despite Wally's high speed, not a single drop of gravy had been spilled.

"Pretty simple, really – I just had to account for the force caused by velocity and counter the resultant motion with an equal but opposite force by –"

"Stop – my ears hurt," Ted groaned. "He's as bad as you are, Barry," he said accusingly.

"We're scientists, Ted. What do you expect?"

What followed was a highly sociable meal, accompanied by nonstop conversation on Barry's, Diana's, and Ted's parts. Kent interjected his remarks from time to time, and Wally listened rapturously as the four old-timers chattered and exchanged stories about the JSA, the Cold War, and almost every other thing that took place within the last twenty years. Then the conversation shifted to more modern events.

"Did you hear about Alan?" Kent asked quietly.

"Yes," sighed Diana.

"No," said Ted at the same time. "What about him?"

"He died at Christmas," Barry replied. "Car accident. Kent and I attended his funeral."

"Damn," Ted said with feeling.

"Wait…Alan Scott's dead?" Wally looked from Barry to Diana.

"I'm afraid so," answered Diana. "It was a tragic thing."

"Didn't he have kids?" Ted asked. "I remember some years back they showed up on his doorstep, or something like that."

"Yes," Kent replied. "Todd and Jennie. I saw them at the funeral – they're both metahumans."

"Well, with Alan as their father and Rose Canton as their mother, what do you expect?" said Ted.

Barry spontaneously held up his drinking glass. "I propose a toast," he said, "to Alan Scott, Earth's first Green Lantern and a valued member of the Justice Society. He might have been a bit on the grumpy side, but he was a good friend, and an honorable man."

"To Alan," Diana agreed, unhesitatingly knocking her glass against Barry's. Kent and Ted followed immediately after.

The somber moment over, the discussion eventually found its way to the Justice League.

"So, Kent – what finally made you change your mind?" Barry asked, referring to the wizard's recent entrance into the League. "Last I heard, you were pretty set on retirement."

"Diana recruited me for a mission of a mystical nature last Christmas," the other man replied. "After that, I sort of…hung around."

"So there's eight of you now, is there?" Ted inquired.

"Nine," Diana corrected. "Black Canary joined us last month."

"Should've known she would do something like that," Ted grumbled. "Too much like her mother."

By this time dinner was finished and Iris began clearing the plates, only to be stopped by Kent.

"No, please – allow me." He waved his hand and muttered a few unintelligible words, and the empty bowls and plates and utensils glowed fuchsia before they disappeared altogether.

"Where did you send them?" Iris asked interestedly.

"The dishwasher." Kent smiled.

Wally jumped up, dashed to the kitchen, and returned a few seconds later with a beautifully iced and decorated cake with fifty-five tiny flames merrily licking away at their candles. This he placed in front of Barry. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…" he sang.

"Happy Birthday, dear Barry," the others picked up in chorus, "Happy Birthday to you."

"All right, now make a wish and blow!" Wally directed.

Barry obligingly took a deep breath and blew the air forcefully out, quite impressively managing to extinguish all fifty-five candles in one go.

"What did you wish for?" Diana asked.

"Di!" Wally exclaimed in mock horror. "That's bad luck!"

"Nonsense," the Amazon princess said dismissively. "Tyche* will not punish a mortal for telling his friends what he wished for."

Barry smiled enigmatically. "Maybe I'll tell you…someday." He looked at his friends. "Thank you for coming to my birthday celebration."

"It was our pleasure, Barry," Kent said sincerely.

"Kent's right," Ted agreed. "It's been too long since we got together."

"And thank _you_, Wally, for organizing this," Barry said, turning to his nephew.

Wally beamed, his lips stretching from ear to ear. "Glad you liked it, Uncle Barry. But I can't take all the credit. Aunt Iris helped – and I wouldn't have been able to get Ted in without Diana."

"And it has been wonderful, but we should get going." Diana rose from the table. "I'm on monitor duty at the Watchtower tonight."

"Say hi to GL for me," Wally said.

There was a round of goodbyes, and then Diana, Kent, and Ted made their way outside to Diana's invisible plane. When they had taken off, Wally turned to Barry.

"So…what _did _you wish for?"

Barry raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was bad luck?"

Wally shrugged. "I'm curious."

"You should be getting home. It's getting late."

"Fine, fine," Wally acquiesced. "See you around." He stepped outside.

"Wally."

Wally turned back to face his uncle.

"I wished for heroes to always be present to keep the world safe."

Wally mulled over that for a while before nodding with a smile. "Goodnight, Uncle Barry."

"Goodnight, Wally."

* * *

_*In Greek mythology, Tyche is the goddess of fortune and luck. A daughter of the goddess Aphrodite, her father was either Zeus or Hermes. Tyche opposed the evils of society and generally bestowed good luck on those who were kind, while punishing ignoble souls with misfortune._

**_A/N: Yes, I would most certainly like to read your reviews ;) As if you had to ask._**


	3. Self Symmetry

_**A/N: Thank you to** Dextra2, 1Superman4Me**, and **leathman** for reviewing :) Now this story's really taking off.**_

* * *

**Chapter Three: Self Symmetry**

Chyre walked over to his squad car parked beside the Central City Crime Lab. As he did so, he caught sight of the young redhead entering the building and waved affably at him.

"Sorry, Morillo, they were fresh out of walnut. I got the hazelnut instead." Chyre passed his partner the bag of nut-filled doughnuts as he got into the car.

Morillo sniffed experimentally at the bag. "Who was that guy you were waving to?"

"Oh, him? That was Wally West – he just started working at the lab last year. Nice kid. He's Allen's nephew."

"He's working under his uncle? That must raise a few eyebrows."

"Not as many as you'd think." Chyre took a sip from his coffee cup. "Looks like Flash is at it again," he added, as a soft whoosh of wind breezed through the open car window, accompanied by the barest hint of yellow. "Wanna head over there and check it out?"

"Knowing Flash, he'll have the villain tied up for us by the time we get there," Morillo said wryly as he started the engine.

* * *

Downtown Central City was under attack from a tornado. While that wasn't exactly uncommon, given the fact that Missouri was part of the United States 'Tornado Alley', this tornado was behaving exceptionally bizarrely. Unlike any other tornado, it was spinning first one way and then another, and moving in erratic zigzag patterns across the streets.

CCPD officers on site were well acquainted this particular twister, and had thus come prepared with loaded guns and specially enforced riot shields to defend against explosions.

"Roscoe Dillon, you are ordered to stop spinning and stand down," the lead detective commanded.

The supervillain known as the Top simply continued whirling his way around, wreaking havoc as he made for the Central City Bank. A few toy tops were tossed out of his personal tornado; they spun merrily to the police, who instantly held their riot shields in front of them. Sure enough, a second later, the toy tops exploded.

"Final warning, Dillon!"

"Don't bother – he's clearly not listening."

The detective blinked in astonishment as the familiar red-and-yellow clad figure appeared in front of him. Only, he wasn't quite as familiar – Flash had reversed the colors of his costume so that the base was yellow, whereas his boots were red, and the normally white circle behind the lightning bolt insignia on his chest was now black.

Before the detective could say a word, Flash had zoomed to the Top at a speed much faster than his usual pace. Top was sufficiently shocked, both at Flash's unusual speed and the radical color inversion of his new costume, that the speedster was able to render him unconscious within two seconds – a record time – leaving police and civilians alike stunned.

The instant Top was neutralized, people surged forward, questions already on their lips. Why had Flash changed his costume? Why was he suddenly so serious? Where were his witty quips, his teasing taunts for his villain? The Top was one of the Rogues, and the Rogues shared a mutual, strangely ambivalent relationship with Flash unlike that of any other superhero and villain, so why had Flash so quickly and casually knocked him out when he would usually have merely restrained him, perhaps throwing out a clever pun?

The citizens at the scene were still trying to get the answers to all these questions when Chyre and Morillo's car pulled up.

"What did I tell you?" Morillo said. "Flash already took care of it."

"Who's the guy in yellow?" Chyre asked. Morillo took a closer look, his eyes widening.

"Weird…looks like…Flash?" he said in disbelief.

"What's with the costume change?" Chyre wondered.

"Let's find out." His partner was already out of the car and marching towards Flash. Chyre and Morillo were both on fairly good terms with Central and Keystone's resident superhero – they were considered by many to be the Flash's closest cop friends – so Morillo felt totally at ease tapping Flash on the shoulder, his mouth already open to form his question.

What he was not prepared for was for Flash to jump violently and disappear, and then reappear instantly behind him, trapping Morillo's neck with his arm.

"Gee, Flash – jumpy much?" Morillo remarked tartly as Flash slowly released his hold.

"Sorry," he apologized. "You startled me."

Morillo nodded curtly, rubbing his neck. "What's with the new threads?" he asked, eyeing the red lightning bolt and black circle amidst the yellow background.

Flash shrugged. "I just felt it was time for a change. Now if you'll excuse me, I –"

"Hold on a minute," Morillo interrupted. Something was off about Flash today – it was bugging Morillo. "We still on for Friday?"

Flash looked blank. "What?"

"Friday." Morillo enunciated the word carefully. "You. Me. Chyre. Scoping out Red's. We're still doing it, right?"

"Uh…yeah, sure. See ya there."

"While you're at it, you might want to check in on Mardon."

"Who?"

Morillo gave him a strange look. "Mark Mardon – Weather Wizard? I heard he's creating trouble for the wardens in Iron Heights."

"Oh, right. Fine, I'll swing by on my way back." Without another word, Flash disappeared. Morillo looked grim as he walked back to Chyre and the car.

"What was that about?" Chyre wanted to know.

"I don't think that's Flash."

Chyre stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. "You're kidding, right? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, for starters, he nearly crushed my larynx." Morillo pointed at his throat, where a bruise was beginning to blossom. "And he's not acting like himself at all – he looked totally clueless about our Friday plans, he forgot Weather Wizard's name, and I'd bet my salary he didn't know who I was. Either Flash hit his head and developed amnesia between yesterday and this morning, or that's not him."

* * *

Iris was waiting for Barry when he got home from work that night, her face unusually solemn. Barry noticed immediately – and even if that hadn't been enough to tip him off, the way his wife was nervously playing with her fingers in her lap – something she only did when under stress – told him that there was something not quite right.

"Iris, what is it?" he asked as he hung up his coat.

"There were some rumors flying about the station earlier today," she told him.

"Oh?" Barry came to sit next to her. "What kind of rumors?"

"The kind that usually foreshadows trouble," `Iris said grimly. "I don't know if it's true or not, but according to the station grapevine the Flash has changed his costume."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with Wally wanting to show his individuality."

Iris shook her head. "No, Barry, you don't understand – Flash's new costume is a complete reversal of his original. Yellow suit, red boots, a red lightning bolt on a black circle. Sound familiar?"

Barry froze. Licking his lips, he asked hesitantly, "Are you sure it isn't just a rumor?"

"Any rumor has to come from some kind of fact," Iris countered. "I don't see any reason why Wally would change his costume like that, and there's only one other explanation for the appearance of a yellow Flash."

"I can't believe this." Barry closed his eyes tiredly. "I thought I'd finally seen the last of him – for God's sake, I threw him into the damn _Speed Force_! But he's never going to leave me alone, is he?"

"We need to tell Wally."

Barry opened his eyes again to peer at his wife. "You know what that involves."

Iris sighed. "I know we thought we could get away with not telling him, but we should have known better. Sooner or later all secrets come out."

"We don't even know if it's true that he's back," Barry argued. "Maybe it isn't him…maybe someone just became overly imaginative."

"Maybe," Iris allowed, "but maybe it's real. Can we really take that chance?"

"I'm willing to risk it for a while. I don't want to have to tell Wally if it isn't necessary. Even if it is Zoom, there's a possibility that he was only able to achieve a temporary escape from the Speed Force and his molecules will be sucked back in eventually. Who knows? We might get lucky."

"If it's really Zoom, he's going to be out for revenge against Flash," Iris pointed out. "Need I remind you that that isn't you anymore? This time it's Wally who's going to be in danger. We swore to protect him, Barry – we have to tell him."

"The truth will hurt him, Iris."

"I'd rather have him hurt than dead!" she exclaimed. She saw Barry flinch, and instantly regretted her outburst. "Barry," she said softly, "when we decided not to tell him, we thought we were doing the right thing. We thought he shouldn't have to deal with the burden the knowledge would give him. But if the rumors are true, we don't have a choice. For his own safety, Wally has to know the truth."

Barry sighed heavily, as if he were carrying the weight of the world. "I know." He made up his mind. "We won't tell him yet," he decided. "We'll wait a bit, and see if this turns out to be nothing more than a scare."

"And if it's really happening?" Iris questioned.

"Then we'll tell him. But only if it's necessary."

Iris mulled over his words. She looked up at him. "Even if it isn't necessary, we may still want to think about telling him."

Barry frowned. "Why?"

"Because," Iris answered, "whether we like it or not, we owe Wally the truth."

* * *

_**A/N: Hmm, so Barry and Iris know something about Wally that they haven't told him. What is it? Stick around to find out ;)**_


	4. Watchtower Wonders

_**A/N: Thanks to** Aedien, Dextra2,** and **leathman** for reviewing.**_

_**The last three chapters have been Central City only, but now it's time to check in with the rest of the Justice League.**_

* * *

**Chapter Four: Watchtower Wonders**

Wally mentally pieced together the various bits of evidence from the Henderson homicide as he hovered around 21st Street. Technically, it wasn't his job to make inferences from the evidence he processed – that was the domain of the actual detectives who scouted the crime scene, interviewed persons of interest, and received information from sources on all sides that didn't always make it to the scientists at the crime lab – but Barry (who undertook similar thought processes) always welcomed his opinion on cases, and sometimes his deductions turned out to be right. Besides, a brain that processed things as quick as Wally's did was bound to be able to find connections that ordinary people might miss – between that and Barry's ability to spin logical connections between their theories and the case and explain them satisfactorily to their detective colleagues in a way that didn't arouse suspicion, Wally had racked up quite an impressive number of cracked cases, considering he'd only been with the CCPD for less than fifteen months.

Also, puzzling over the case gave his mind something to chew on while he waited to be picked up for his shift on the Watchtower.

Unfortunately for Wally, there was not much evidence to go through, as the Henderson case was a very recent one, and he was soon left with nothing to do. Being a speedster, Wally naturally got bored easily when he had nothing to do. His lightning mind quickly cast around for a new puzzle to think through, since there was not much else he could do to occupy himself. His thoughts, as his brain jumped from one idea to the next, ranged from _GL's late _to _Wonder what there is to eat on the Watchtower _to _I can't wait till we get the new transport system up and running._

Since its founding, the Justice League had maintained three Javelin-7's for transport between Earth and their outer space headquarters. Recently, though, this method had proved too slow and too cumbersome – a fact Doctor Fate had been quick to point out when he joined. He and Batman subsequently conferred together to come up with a better means of transportation. When Hawkgirl entered into their conversations, Doctor Fate's suggestion of teleportation gained technological feasibility, and the trio had been hard at work for the past several months developing a working teleport system that they could use in place of the Javelins. Of course, there were many things to be considered – how to best structure it, where to locate the invariant point, how to make it work on a large scale – and above all, how to make it completely infallible. Superman was certain that the League was going to gain more members over time – the Man of Steel could envision a future where the Justice League were at least thirty strong; if he was right, and the League would eventually be operating all over the world in unprecedented numbers, the teleport system would have to be flawlessly accurate and extremely reliable.

Until it was, however, the League members were still reliant on the Javelin-7's and piggy-backs. Of the nine heroes currently in the League, four of them – Superman, Green Lantern, J'onn, and Doctor Fate – were capable of making it up to the Watchtower without a Javelin, and on occasion the others depended on them to pick them up and take them there. Wally preferred traveling with GL or Doctor Fate – whenever he went with either of those two, he didn't need to bother putting on a space suit to protect himself from the extremes of space.

When his watch registered the time as ten-fifteen – fifteen minutes after the designated time for Green Lantern to pick him up – Wally activated his comlink. "Dude, where are you? You're gonna make me late for monitor duty! Do you want Batman to kill me?"

_"Sorry, Flash – change of plan," _Hal Jordan's voice replied. _"Batman and Hawkgirl think the teleport system's ready for activation – they want to test it."_

A shiver ran down Wally's back. "On _me_?" he squeaked.

_"Don't worry," _GL said soothingly. _"It's perfectly safe. We've had success transporting a bag of marbles from here to Doctor Fate's tower."_

"A bag of marbles is a lot smaller than a human being," Wally pointed out. "You sure Bats doesn't want to test it out on – you know – something more complex first?"

_"Flash, you _are _the test."_

"But I don't want –"

A bluish-white light enveloped him just then, disassembling his molecules and rematerializing him in the Watchtower control room, thousands of miles above the Earth.

"– to be the…" Wally stopped and stared at the advanced machinery that made up this part of the Watchtower. "Whoa."

"Teleporter's online," Batman said. He made a note on one of the computer monitors, then promptly walked off.

"What do you know?" Hawkgirl said cheerfully. "It worked."

"What do you mean, 'what do you know'?" Wally demanded indignantly. "You mean you weren't _sure_ it would work? What if that thing had scattered my atoms all over Pluto?"

"Flash, do you really think we would've risked your life if we weren't absolutely sure it would work?"

Wally ignored that and decided to focus on being glad that he'd put on his Flash costume earlier. The issue of secret identities was a little sticky in the League – not everyone was aware of everyone's alter egos. Wonder Woman's and Doctor Fate's identities were common knowledge within the League, and Hal had come out pretty early to his teammates, but everyone else had kept their faces behind their masks. There were a few exceptions, of course – Batman probably knew who everyone was (except possibly Hawkgirl), J'onn had apparently entrusted details of his human persona to Superman and Batman, and Superman and Black Canary were the only ones on the team who knew Batman's identity – but on the whole, their identities were still confidential. Wally himself had kept his identity a closely guarded secret – Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate knew him by association with Barry, but the only one he'd actually told was Hal, and that only a couple of months ago. Since then, if Hal was the one picking him up, Wally normally wouldn't change into his costume until the last minute because it was easier to stay inconspicuous as Wally West – but tonight he'd made an exception, and he was exceedingly glad he had. He wasn't ready for everyone to know about Wally West – and his complicated past – just yet.

Hawkgirl, meanwhile, was patting the teleporter console affectionately. "This baby's gonna make traveling up here a whole lot easier, that's for sure." She stepped onto the teleport pad. "Flash, if you don't want to find yourself in Midway, you'd better get off the pad."

Flash hurriedly stepped off. Hawkgirl nodded at Hal.

"Let her rip, GL."

Green Lantern pushed a button and turned a knob, and the next instant Hawkgirl vanished before their eyes. GL turned to Flash, a ridiculously gleeful grin on his face.

"Cool, huh?"

"It feels weird," Flash said huffily.

"Oh, you're just mad we used you as a test subject." GL waved a hand dismissively.

Flash glared at him. "And I'm stuck with _you _for ten hours tonight?"

"You, me, and Batman," GL corrected. "I don't think he's planning on going back to Gotham till five a.m., East Coast time."

"Why not?"

"He said something about doing the Watchtower maintenance reports to send to WayneTech."

"Oh." Flash said no more on the subject. Batman was touchy about his liaison duties with WayneTech, the company that financed all the League's equipment. Flash still hadn't figured out how Batman had managed to convince the corporation to foot the bill for the League's astronomically high operating expenses. When he'd dared to ask about it, Superman had mentioned vaguely that Batman was a close friend of Bruce Wayne, the CEO of the WayneTech empire – and a ferocious Bat-glare from the Dark Knight himself had convinced Flash not to pursue the matter further.

Still, Flash thanked their lucky stars that WayneTech was willing to support the League financially (though he had a sneaking suspicion that they were getting some revenue from Queen Industries as well) – without it, they wouldn't have their headquarters.

Flash still wasn't entirely sure where the idea for a space station had come from, but it'd stuck. The designs for the Watchtower were the result of several conferences among Batman, Wonder Woman, J'onn, Hawkgirl, and Flash himself. Hey, he was a joker, but he was also a genius who graduated college early – and he was brilliant in physics and chemistry. The five of them had come up with a schematic that incorporated a blend of Martian, Thanagarian, Amazon, and Earth technology. The Watchtower itself had been built within a month, assembled by the seven founders working together, and then equipped with the latest surveillance, gadgets, tools, computers, satellites, and whatnot. The Javelin-7's originated with Green Lantern, who had used his experience as a pilot to sketch a set of blueprints, using Ferris Aircraft's designs as a guide, and then passed the data to Batman so the Leaguers would have a means of transportation to their headquarters.

"What's there to eat?" Flash queried, heading towards the cafeteria. The Watchtower cafeteria was his favorite part of their headquarters – it was one of the few places he could eat as much as he needed to sustain his hyper-accelerated metabolism without arousing suspicion. Batman's contacts in the culinary industry (where was he getting these people?) supplied for the League a certain amount of food each day – which thankfully took into consideration Flash's enormous appetite – and kept the heroes fed when they were on duty.

"Meatloaf, pasta, apple pie…" Green Lantern supplied. "I ate the last of the pizza, though."

"Okay." Flash zipped around the room, grabbing ingredients and dishes and piling them on a tray. He then made his way back to the bridge, sat down, and began to eat, all the while keeping up steady conversation with Green Lantern and noting activity on the monitors out of the corner of his eye.

It was just as he was licking his fingers clean of the last piece of pie that the alert sounded.

"Which city?" Flash asked, standing up to get a better look.

"Yours," GL replied. "Someone's robbing the Central City S.T.A.R. Lab."

"Great." Flash was on the teleporter pad in an instant. "Beam me down, Scotty."

"Want some backup?" GL offered as he rapidly typed in the coordinates.

"Nah, I'm good. It's probably Mirror Master or someone hoping to get lucky."

GL nodded. "All right. Teleport in three, two, one…"

In a burst of light, Flash vanished.

* * *

_**A/N: Yep, tomorrow we're going back to Central City. Oh, well, it IS a Flash story.**_


	5. Puzzle Pieces

_**A/N: I forgot to mention that for those of you who aren't familiar with my Diamond Earth universe, seeing Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern of the Justice League in the last chapter would have come as a surprise. But, yeah - given that Diamond Earth is my personal DC universe, built up the way I like it, I picked and chose different elements, backstories, plotlines, and even characters to make it. Since Hal is my favorite Green Lantern, he ended up in Diamond Earth's Justice League. **_

_**The basic foundation for this universe was established in my first Diamond Earth story,** Origins**, and to a certain extent, my Christmas anthology **Joy to the World** as well. You can find them both on my profile, or under the Justice League/Teen Titans (comics) crossovers.**_

_**Thanks to **Kyer, Dextra2,** and **leathman** for reviewing! And kudos to **leathman **for spotting the reference to **Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths** in the last chapter.**_

* * *

**Chapter Five: Puzzle Pieces**

The Central City S.T.A.R. Lab was a square building with lots of metal panels, apparatuses, and appliances, as well as an entire host of electronic gadgets and the latest in research technology. The entire structure was guarded by a top-of-the-line security system. Currently, that same system's many alarms were wailing loudly.

"Gosh, what a cacophony," Flash observed after the teleport beam had finished reassembling his molecules. He turned towards the lab and grimaced. "Look at this place," he muttered, noting the multitude of reflective surfaces around the outside itself. "It's practically _inviting _Mirror Master to rob it."

Then he frowned. "Wait a minute." His mind whirred. There was something wrong with this picture – given the nature of the lab, Mirror Master should have been able to slip in via reflections without setting off the alarm.

"Maybe it isn't Mirror Master after all?" Flash mused as he dashed into the compound. _I mean, why would Mirror Master want to rob S.T.A.R. Labs anyway? _

He was about to enter the lab when he caught sight of an orange-and-green-suited figure behind the bushes. "Gotcha!" he said, changing direction and running to Mirror Master. "What are you doing at S.T.A.R. Labs, Mirror Master?"

Surprisingly, Mirror Master made no attempt to attack or run – instead, he looked Flash up and down. "I knew the rumors were wrong."

Puzzled, Flash commented, "O…kay…you aren't trying to steal anything. Why aren't you trying to steal anything?"

Mirror Master snorted. "I'm not here for a job, Flash. I'm not stupid enough to steal from a top-secret government facility – there are easier pickings."

This only served to confuse Flash further. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to see you."

Flash blinked. "You…what?"

"Don't be too flattered," Mirror Master told him. "It's only because I wanted to prove to the others that you hadn't changed your costume."

"Dude, you're so losing me here."

Mirror Master sighed. When he spoke again, it was in a patient, patronizing voice, as if he were talking to a five-year-old. "Word on the street is you've switched to a yellow suit. People have been saying you've become a 'Reverse Flash' because you've completely inverted the colors of your costume."

"That's ridiculous," protested Flash. "Why would I change my costume? I don't even look good in yellow."

"That's what I said. But the Rogues are getting curious; Weather Wizard heard the news from Top – who claims you were wearing yellow when you stopped his rampage to the bank – and then he passed the message along to Cold, who told the rest of us – and now Trickster's thinking of reversing the colors of his own costume."

"Whoa, wait, hold on," said Flash. "I thought Top was still in Iron Heights."

"Well, he is now, after you put him back there after his escape."

"I didn't even know he escaped! I haven't seen him since November."

Mirror Master's eyes narrowed. "Nice try, Flash," he said, "but the whole town saw you knock him out on Eighth Street two days ago. By the way, why the sudden change in fighting style?"

"What?"

"Top had a whole bunch of new puns to trade with you, but according to him, you didn't give him a chance to tell you any of them. You didn't throw out a single quip, and you punched his lights out within a few seconds."

"I never did that!"

Mirror Master raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Flash repeated. "I think I'd remember a fight that short. Normally you guys are good enough to keep me busy for a few minutes, at least."

Mirror Master shrugged. "Well, then, there's something weird going on." He cocked his head as the sound of police sirens reached their ears. "That's my cue."

"You're not gonna be able to get out of here without getting caught," Flash pointed out. "Whether or not you intended to steal anything, you're still trespassing on government property. You gotta go to Iron Heights for a couple of days."

Mirror Master smirked. "I think I'll pass on that."

"Tough. You don't have a choice." Flash's arms darted out to make a quick grab for him, but his fingers went straight through Mirror Master's body. Flash looked up just in time to see the hologram wavering before it vanished completely. "Of course," he muttered.

* * *

Green Lantern's whistled tune came to an abrupt halt as the doors swished open to reveal Batman, with his 'this-means-business' face on.

"Where's Flash?"

"He's stopping a robbery down in Central." GL wondered privately why Batman looked so pissed. "Why? What's up?"

"Teleport him back here. Now."

"But –" GL started to protest.

"_Now_."

Green Lantern shrugged and typed something into the computer. A second later, Flash appeared, rather annoyed.

"Hey, what gives?!" he demanded. "You don't just teleport somebody when they're trying to stop a criminal! If this is what we're gonna be using the teleporter for we'd better dismantle the thing. It's a good thing there wasn't an _actual _robbery going on." He caught sight of Batman and frowned. "Oh, come on, Bats! I was just gonna stick around a few more minutes to explain things to the cops when they arrived – I promise I wasn't trying to skip out on monitor duty."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Lantern, where was he?"

"Central City," Green Lantern replied. "I just told you."

"Was he there the whole time?"

"Yes."

"Duh!" Flash added.

"Then how," Batman questioned, "did Batgirl see you in Gotham two minutes ago?"

Flash looked taken aback. "Dude, I was in Central for barely ten minutes, and GL was watching the whole time. Even _I_'m not fast enough to run to Gotham and back in the blink of an eye."

"How fast can you run?"

"Come again?" Flash asked.

"What's your highest speed?" Batman rephrased.

"I dunno…never really recorded it before."

"Have you ever achieved Mach 8?"

Flash gaped at him. "Bats, it's tough just to get to Mach 3! My fastest ever speed was around Mach 4, I think – and I only managed that for about three seconds, and I was so zonked out afterwards it took me a full week to recover."

Batman frowned. "Well, then, there's another speedster running around – one who's even faster than you."

"Hang on a minute," Green Lantern interjected. "You said Batgirl _saw_ him?"

"To be precise, she saw a blur zipping across the roads – and the Batcomputer clocked said blur at speeds approaching hypersonic."

"Holy cow!" exclaimed Flash. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Surprisingly, no. Although this speedster is regularly breaking the sound barrier and then some, it doesn't seem to be having any negative effects on his environment."

"Well, that doesn't make sense," Flash said.

"No less sense than how you're still alive."

"Excuse me?"

"_You_ run past the speed of sound fairly frequently yourself," Batman pointed out. "Technically, the friction and force caused by that should kill you, yet you're still here – and you don't normally cause damage to your surrounding areas either."

"That's because I'm connected to the Speed Force."

"What _is _this Speed Force?" GL inquired. "You've mentioned it several times, but you've never explained what it is."

"I'm actually not too sure myself," Flash admitted. "The previous Flash told me that it's a lightspeed dimension that coexists in the same plane as Earth, and that the energies within it protect all speedsters linked to it from the harmful effects caused by our speed."

"We're talking about the JSA Flash here, right?" Green Lantern clarified.

"The second one, yeah." Hal might know his identity, but Flash still hadn't gotten around to telling him that the previous Flash was in fact his uncle.

"How did you become linked to the Speed Force in the first place?" Batman queried.

"I don't know…does it matter?"

"It might."

Flash sighed. "My best guess is that that lightning bolt that hit me back when I first got my powers contained Speed Force energy."

"Well, maybe this speedster is linked to the Speed Force too," GL suggested.

"Have you ever heard of any other speedsters besides yourself and the other Flashes?" Batman asked Flash.

"No. As far as I know, there have only been the three of us. The first one died, and the second one would have no reason to be in Gotham." _Unless Uncle Barry knows something he's not telling me…_

"Why would that speedster be in Gotham, anyway?" Green Lantern wondered.

"I don't know," Batman admitted. "But I'm going to find out."

"Whoa, whoa, let's all just calm down for a minute," Flash interjected, holding his hands up. "Maybe he was just passing through. Just because we didn't know of another speedster doesn't mean he has to be a bad guy. Maybe he's one of us."

"Maybe he is," Batman conceded. "But what if he's not?"

"What are you saying?"

"Flash, this is someone whose speed far exceeds your own. You may be right, and he might be a hero or just a harmless metabeing – but there's also a chance that he's a villain. And if he is, then we need to know what we're up against. Besides," Batman finished, "no one just 'passes through' Gotham."

And with that, the Dark Knight turned on his heel and swept out of the room, his black cape floating behind him.

* * *

_**A/N: And so the plot thickens. Do any of you have any theories yet about...well, anything, really? I'd love to hear them :D**_


	6. Familiar Foes

_**A/N: Three cheers for **Dextra2** and **leathman**, my two loyal reviewers!**_

* * *

**Chapter Six: Familiar Foes**

Strictly speaking, the cities of Central and Keystone shared a single, unified police force: the Central Keystone Police Department. However, each city maintained its own branch and controlled its own police stations, crime labs, and divisions, and the general habit of the citizens of either municipality was to refer to them by their separate branch names – mainly, CCPD or KCPD. The protocol, though, was for officers to identify themselves as CKPD – so that's exactly what Chyre and Morillo did when they knocked on the door of their suspect's apartment.

"Sam Scudder, CKPD, open up!" Chyre rapped on the wood again. "Scudder!"

The door swung open. "Geez, you cops are getting more and more impatient these days."

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"Don't play dumb, Scudder," Chyre said angrily. "We know one of the Rogues hit the S.T.A.R. Lab in Central last night. Weather Wizard and the Top are still in Iron Heights, Captains Cold and Boomerang just got out this morning, and Jesse would have left his fake vomit all over the scene. That only leaves you and the Pied Piper, and we already checked his place."

"Officer, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

"How would you like to be arrested?"

"You can't arrest me. I know my rights." Scudder crossed his arms. "Maybe I was there, but you don't have any proof that I stole anything."

"The missing gravitational device begs to differ!"

"All right, so someone stole the damn thing. You still don't have any proof that it was me."

"Are you trying to tell me there was someone _else _breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs last night?"

"Well, it's not out of the realm of possibility, is it?"

Chyre growled incoherently. Morillo touched his arm, silently reminding him not to let his temper get the best of him. Chyre was known to have the shortest fuse among the CCPD, and had even been sent for anger management sessions on a few occasions. It was partly the reason why he was still only a second-grade detective at fifty-three, after more than twenty-five years on the force.

When he was satisfied that his partner had a grip on himself for now, Morillo turned to Scudder. "Wipe that stupid smug look off your face, Scudder," he snapped. "We can still book you for trespassing on government property."

Scudder didn't bat an eye. "No, you can't, because technically, I wasn't even there. Besides, what would I want with a gravity thingy anyway? My gig is mirrors."

Morillo eyed him very carefully. "Well, Mirrors, we'll leave now, because you're right – we _don't _have any proof – _but_," he stressed, "if we get even the slightest _hint _that you _did _steal that device, you'll be on trial at the Supreme Court before you can say 'reflection'."

Scudder raised an eyebrow. "So for government-funded organizations, criminals skip the community jail and go straight to life sentence? Nice. Good to know the 'land of the free and home of the brave' has such blatant double standards."

"That device is still experimental," Morillo informed him. "And it's a classified design. It's considered a defense weapon – that means anyone caught trying to sell it or reveal its blueprints could be convicted of treason."

That made Scudder a little more alert. "Look, I didn't take it, all right? I'm not that stupid."

"Then why were you at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"I already told you I wasn't –"

"Fine," Morillo grit out. "Why was your _hologram _at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"That's my business. Now if you'll excuse me, officers, I have things to do." Unceremoniously, Scudder closed the door on them.

* * *

Chyre was still in a rather foul mood when he and Morillo arrived at Fourth Street for their planned stakeout of _The Red Pub_, more commonly known in laymen's terms as 'Red's'. Run by one Joey Brandt, the pub had also earned the moniker 'Rogues' Bar' because it was the frequent hangout of many of the Flash's villains. Flash had long ago decided (and the CKPD agreed with him) that when the Rogues spent time there, he would leave them be, because it meant they weren't off somewhere committing crimes. It also made them easy to locate whenever he needed to meet with one of them.

Of course, the Rogues frequently met at the pub to discuss plans for law-breaking, and as such, the bar tended to be a veritable gold mine of information for anyone who knew how to listen. Thus, Chyre and Morillo sporadically staked out the place. Occasionally, Flash would join them.

Today's stakeout had already been planned by the three of them beforehand, so Flash arrived just a few minutes after Chyre and Morillo had.

"Hey, guys," he greeted in his usual cheerful manner.

Morillo glanced once at him and said dryly, "Not yellow, then?"

"Sorry?" Flash asked.

"Chyre and I had some concerns that you were developing a preference for the color yellow."

"Uh…you know I have no idea what you're talking about, right?"

"You don't happen to have a yellow version of your costume in your closet, do you?" Morillo asked bluntly.

Flash blinked, flabbergasted. "Nooo…" he said slowly.

Morillo nodded, satisfied. "Thought so."

"Would you please explain to me what you're on about?" Flash said plaintively.

"You've got a doppelganger running around, Flash," Chyre informed him curtly. "He showed up in Central to fight Top three days ago, and his costume was exactly like yours, except with the colors inverted."

Flash frowned. "Weird, Mirror Master said the exact same thing to me last night."

"Scudder?" Chyre perked up immediately. "You saw him at S.T.A.R. Labs yesterday?"

"Well, his hologram."

"Why weren't you there when CCPD arrived on scene?"

"I got called up to the Watchtower for something…urgent."

"Did you see if he stole anything?" Morillo enquired.

"No – he said he was only there to find out the truth about whether I was this 'Reverse Flash'." Flash paused. "Wait – steal?"

"Someone nicked an experimental gravity field generator from the vault last night," Chyre informed him. "We thought Scudder might have it, but he swears he hasn't seen the thing."

"A gravity field generator?" questioned Flash in astonishment. "Seriously? That's really high-tech stuff."

"And very dangerous in the wrong hands," Chyre added. "According to the S.T.A.R. Lab scientists, if some idiot doesn't know how to use it right, it could create a black hole that'll suck in the entire Earth."

Flash's eyes widened beneath his cowl. "Holy _crap_."

"Thing is," Chyre continued, "if none of the Rogues stole it, then we're looking at someone new – someone who was smart enough to bypass all the security systems, and fast enough to slip in and out during a very short time window…" His eyes widened as he realized something. "Someone like the yellow Flash."

Flash was stunned. "You mean –"

"Shh!" Morillo suddenly shushed them. "Mirror Master just entered the bar."

* * *

"Hey, Scudder!" Pied Piper called out, waving Mirror Master over to the table he was sharing with Captains Cold and Boomerang – fresh out of Iron Heights – and the Trickster.

"Good to see you, mate," Boomerang greeted. "How'd it go last night?"

"Just as I expected," Mirror Master replied, settling down beside Captain Cold. "Flash hasn't changed his costume."

"Hear that, Trickster?" Piper nudged the other Rogue. "No need to mess with the colors on your suit."

Trickster frowned, puzzled. "But if it's not Flash, who's the yellow-suited guy running around?"

"Beats me," said Mirror Master. "Whoever he is, he ain't friendly."

"And you know this because you met him," Captain Cold said sarcastically.

"You saw how he took out Top on Tuesday," Piper pointed out. "Flash wouldn't have done that – at least, not so fast."

Captain Boomerang shrugged. "Well, whatever the case, it ain't our business. If Reverse Flash is a threat, Flash will take care of him. And if he doesn't, the League will. We've got matters of our own to attend to."

"Yeah, like busting Top and Weather Wizard out of prison," Mirror Master put in. "When was the last time all seven of us were together?"

"Before the League was founded, at least," Captain Cold muttered. "From then till now, at any one time at least one of us was in Iron Heights."

"Time to change that, I think," Boomerang decided.

* * *

"I'm gonna swing by Iron Heights and make sure they beef up security," Flash declared.

"Good idea," Morillo approved. "While you're at it, have a chat with Dillon about the yellow Flash, would you? He's the one who saw him up close – he might know something we don't."

"Will do." Flash waved and disappeared in a streak of red.

* * *

"We've been sort of expecting a breakout attempt for Top and Weather Wizard ever since Captains Cold and Boomerang escaped this morning," the Iron Heights guard informed Flash as he led the speedster into the jail. "A few of the guys heard them muttering about a 'Rogue get-together', so we guessed they'd try to break their cronies out sooner or later."

"So you've already taken precautions?"

"Well, sure, and we think we've covered all the bases – but with these guys, you never really know."

Flash nodded wryly. His Rogues had surprised him with their ingenuity on more than one occasion. And to be fair, they were probably long overdue for a reunion of all seven. Flash knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but being a hero, his responsibility was to make sure it occurred more towards the 'later' part of that equation.

"If you need backup, just yell," the guard told him as they stopped outside the Top's cell. He placed the key chip on the scanner and entered his security code; the electronic door lock clicked open.

"Nice of you to stop by, Flash," Top greeted. "Our last meeting was rather over-the-top, don't you think?"

"That wasn't me," Flash said, managing not to grimace at the typical top pun.

"So I heard." Top squinted at him. "Who was it, then?"

Flash shrugged. "Actually, I was hoping you could tell me."

"Me?" Top said incredulously. "You've got to be joking, right? I thought he was you!"

"Yeah, but you saw him up close," Flash pointed out.

"For all of two seconds."

"Can't you remember anything, though?" Flash inquired. "Did anything – anything at all – strike you about him?"

"Well, he was a tip-top runner."

"I'm serious, Top."

"So am I." Top met Flash's gaze evenly. "Look, if I could tell you anything more about the guy, I would – but like I said, I was looking at him for like two seconds before he knocked me out."

Flash nodded, accepting his reply. "All right. Thanks anyway." He walked out, firmly closed the door to the cell until it locked automatically, and was about to turn and run out when Top spoke up again.

"I'll tell you one thing, though, Flash. Whoever this speedster is, you don't want to cross him."

"Yeah…" said Flash slowly. "Thing is, I might have to. At first I thought he could be a good guy, but certain evidence suggests he might not be that good after all." _Especially not if he stole a gravity field generator from S.T.A.R. Labs. Who knows what he's planning to do with it._

"Well, then, Flash," said Top, "you'd better hope you're faster than he is."

* * *

_**A/N: It's all gonna come down to speed, isn't it? Ah, well, it's a Flash story - what do you expect? XD**_


	7. Bad Business

_**A/N: Thanks to **pottyandweezlbe89, 1Superman4Me,** and **leathman** for reviewing.**_

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Bad Business**

Batman marched up to Flash and slapped a pile of folders in front of him, causing the younger man to jolt.

"What the heck, Bats?" he demanded, barely managing to keep his iced mocha from spilling.

"These," said Batman, "are the case reports of each and every scientific robbery in the past week."

"The what?"

"Are you referring to the recent rash of thefts of high-tech scientific equipment?" clarified Superman, who was with Flash on monitor duty.

Under his cowl, Batman raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what I said?"

"So why are you giving these to me?" Flash asked, gingerly picking up the topmost file of the stack.

"Because the yellow speedster running amok is responsible for them."

Flash squinted at Batman questioningly. "You know this how?"

Batman gave him a look.

"Point taken," Flash conceded, knowing Batman had his ways. "I guess he's a confirmed bad guy now." He flipped through the case file. "This is all super high-tech stuff – I don't even want to think about what he plans to do with it all."

"Maybe he's building something?" Superman suggested.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good."

"We _need _to find out who he is," Batman emphasized, fixing Flash with a stare.

"I'm working on it," he said, a tad defensively. Strangely, Barry – who normally wouldn't shut up – never seemed to want to talk about the yellow speedster.

"Work harder," Batman told him. "Something tells me we don't have much time."

* * *

The inhabitants of Iron Heights woke up in the early morning hours to the sound of a wailing siren – the alarm for the prison. Naturally, most of the inmates eagerly peeked out of their cells, hoping the source of the alarm was a breach in security they could capitalize on to escape; however, this particular breach benefited only two cells.

"It's about damn time," Weather Wizard said as Mirror Master appeared out of a small square mirror Captain Cold had cleverly hidden under the stamp of the last letter he'd sent his fellow Rogue.

"Hey, just be grateful," Mirror Master retorted.

"Are we getting Top out too?" Weather Wizard inquired as Mirror Master took him into the mirror.

"Already taken care of, pal."

* * *

"Hey, Morillo," Flash called as he approached the detective's desk. Across the room, Chyre irately slammed his phone down on its cradle. "Yikes," Flash commented. "What's up with Chyre?"

"Weather Wizard and Top escaped from Iron Heights this morning," Morillo explained. "Chyre's in a right fit about it."

"Those guys are always escaping," Flash pointed out. "And we heard the other Rogues planning to break them out."

"You know Chyre." Morillo changed the subject. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

"The yellow Flash," replied Flash.

Morillo frowned thoughtfully. "We don't have much on him. He hasn't been seen in Central in almost a week. We don't even have any leads on the missing gravitational device."

"You still think the yellow Flash took it?" Flash asked curiously. Morillo shrugged.

"What other explanation is there? Chyre's right – the window of opportunity was extremely small."

"So you don't have _anything _on the yellow Flash?"

"Believe me, I wish we did. But how can you pin someone who travels faster than sound?"

A sudden commotion arose from the cops gathered around the small TV in the next room.

"He's back!" someone exclaimed.

"Who's back?" Chyre demanded, poking his head into the room.

"The yellow Flash – 41st Street," came the excited reply.

"That's my cue," said Flash. He was gone before Morillo could hear the whole sentence.

* * *

By the time Flash arrived at 41st Street, his yellow counterpart was already terrorizing the citizens there, in such a malicious way that no one could mistake him for Flash in a different costume. When Flash got there, the yellow speedster was seizing a terrified bystander by his clothes. Before Flash could order him to let the man go, the other Flash released his captive and spoke.

"There you are, Flash. I was beginning to wonder whether you'd retired."

"Nope, still around," Flash rejoined. "Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"

The yellow Flash clicked his tongue. "Forgotten me so fast, Flash?" he mocked. "No matter. Soon you'll have every reason to remember the name of Zoom." With a speed so fast even Flash didn't see him coming, Zoom appeared at Flash's side and socked him painfully in the jaw. "I'm going to enjoy taking my revenge on you, Flash."

"I've never met you before!" Flash exclaimed, rolling out of the way of Zoom's next punch. He tried to grab Zoom's hand, but the other speedster was faster than he was; he slipped out of the way and crunched Flash's fingers, prompting a yell of pain from the red-clad hero.

"You're slower than before, Flash," Zoom noted. "You must be getting old. It's been, what – twelve, thirteen years?" He backed up to put a bit of space between him and Flash, then slammed at high-speed into the Scarlet Speedster. "At least there's one benefit of being trapped in the Speed Force – I haven't aged."

Tingling with painful kinetic energy from Zoom's assault, Flash didn't spare precious milliseconds wondering what the villain was talking about, choosing instead to use the time to avoid Zoom's blows whenever possible. Hot damn, the guy was _fast_.

This was an unwelcome novelty for Flash. Having proudly labeled himself the 'Fastest Man Alive' (with the exception, perhaps, of Barry), he had never had to worry about fighting a foe as quick as he was before. But with Zoom, Flash had met his match in speed – and then some. Despite his hyper-accelerated perception, Flash could barely seeZoom coming – he was _that _fast. Flash was unable to even _touch _Zoom; he spent the majority of their battle trying and failing to outrun him.

Yet surprisingly, despite having an obvious advantage, Zoom stopped short of defeating Flash completely. He skidded to a stop mere inches from where Flash was hunched over on the ground, nursing several broken ribs.

"I won't kill you yet, Flash, because I want you to see my revenge," the villainous speedster informed him. "I want to see your horror and terror when you find out what's going to happen. But until then, I won't kill you. Enjoy your respite, Flash – it won't last long."

An instant later, Zoom was gone.

* * *

"Are you sure you're all right?" Chyre asked in concern as Flash wolfed down another boxed pizza. He and Morillo had arrived a few minutes after Zoom left to find Flash being treated by the paramedics.

"Give me a sec." Flash winced as he placed a hand to his torso (the paramedics had already set and wrapped up his ribs), gently prodding his flesh. "Ow. Yeah, that's gonna take a few days to heal up."

"A few _days_?" Morillo repeated in amazement.

"Hyper-accelerated metabolism means I heal super-fast too," Flash explained. "Most of my bruises from the battle are already gone…but broken bones take a while longer to heal, even with extra food." He gingerly descended from his seat in the ambulance.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the head paramedic inquired.

"Home."

"Not with those ribs, you aren't."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Flash assured her. "A couple of days and I'll be good as new. Really."

The paramedic frowned heavily at him, but she had long since learned the futility of treating superheroes. "Fine," she relented. "But at least _try _not to do any heavy lifting, would you?"

Flash saluted. "Yes, ma'am." He turned to Chyre and Morillo. "Let me know if you learn anything new on Zoom – anything at all."

"Will do," Morillo agreed.

"This Zoom character sounds like he means business," said Chyre. "How are you gonna stop him?"

"I work with a team of superheroes; I'll find a way." Flash straightened. "See you around." He turned and left, running at less than half his usual speed so he didn't jolt his ribs so much.

* * *

In the sanctuary of his apartment, Wally was able to take time to think more thoroughly about the battle. Zoom seemed hell-bent on getting revenge for some reason, and the mocking comments he'd thrown out proved he was familiar with the Flash. Unfortunately, Wally couldn't say the same – he was totally clueless about Zoom and his motives. But just because Wally had never met Zoom before didn't mean Zoom wasn't talking sense. Zoom appeared to think that the last time they had fought each other was around twelve to thirteen years ago.

Twelve to thirteen years ago, there had been only one person alive who was called the Flash.

"I think it's time for a talk with Uncle Barry."

* * *

_**A/N: Tomorrow, we get backstory, and lots of it; we find out quite a bit about Barry and Zoom's past, as well as some of Wally's background. Basically, what I'm trying to say is: secrets and family drama to unfold!**_


	8. Truthful Tale

_**A/N: Thanks to **Invader Abigail, leathman,** and **Dextra2** for reviewing.**_

_**Now we get to some heavy backstory.**_

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Truthful Tale**

Barry pulled open the door and found his nephew standing outside, looking battered and rather the worse for the wear. He glanced at him in concern.

"Wally, are you all right?"

"Not really." Wally slowly shuffled inside, wincing as the movement jarred his injured ribs. As he entered the living room, Iris looked up from the book she was reading.

"Wally!" she exclaimed, springing up to help him. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Wally assured her. He lowered himself carefully into an armchair and looked up at Barry, face serious. "We need to talk."

Barry sighed and sat down across from his nephew, exchanging a significant glance with Iris before turning back to face Wally. "I know." Much as he was loath to, he had to tell Wally the truth about Zoom. The stakes were life and death now and Wally was the one in danger.

"Zoom's real name is Eobard Thawne," Barry began. "He was originally a scientist from the future – sometime in the 25th century, I think – but he was an avid fan of the Flash – almost obsessed. He apparently found an old suit of mine in a time capsule somewhere and put it on – and the residual Speed Force energy left in the suit gave him my powers."

"Can that happen?" Wally inquired.

Barry shrugged. "Who knows? You haven't let anyone else put on your suit, have you? And while we're on the subject, I strongly advise against it – there's still a lot we don't know about the Speed Force and you might accidentally introduce its energies into someone who isn't suited for it.

"Professor Zoom first appeared in Central in 1972," he continued, "wearing a suit identical to mine. Everyone mistook him for me – it was extremely confusing. I'd already been the Flash five years, and at first I thought, like you did, that he might be a fellow hero. And at first, he did seem to be – he showed up at every supervillain crime scene, offering his help…he was there at every disaster site, rescuing civilians and working tirelessly. However, it didn't take me long to realize that these disasters were occurring with more frequency than was natural; and I found out that Zoom had actually been instigating them so he could be a hero. As you might imagine, my respect for him fell very swiftly after that. I confronted him about it, and he got defensive. He asked why I could be the only speedster around, and accused me of being jealous.

"The next time I saw him, he had inverted the colors of his suit and dropped the 'Professor' from his name, now an open villain. We clashed many times over the years – he became my greatest, most dangerous enemy. He landed me in the JSA's medical facility more times than I care to count."

"I can relate," Wally agreed, thinking of the beating he'd taken earlier. Barry nodded sympathetically.

"After the JSA disbanded, I continued working on my own in Central and Keystone. Zoom kept on plaguing me, getting more and more dangerously radical…he almost killed Iris in '84."

Iris shuddered the memory. Being one inch away from having Zoom's hand vibrate into her brain was not something she cared to repeat – or remember.

"I think I achieved my fastest speed then," Barry confessed. "I was so angry, I ran faster than I ever had before…and since Zoom activated his time-traveling device while I was running neck to neck with him, we both ended up in Zoom's time, the 25th century. After I defeated him, he was arrested by the police from his timeline. I found my way back to 1984, thinking I'd seen the last of him."

"And then he showed up here again two weeks ago," Wally surmised. "Only, he thinks I'm you and he's out for revenge."

"Not quite." Barry sighed, knowing he had come to the painful part of the story. He met Iris' eyes. "He is out for revenge, but that wasn't the last time I encountered him before recent events." He took a breath. "Zoom came back in February 1990."

He waited for Wally to make the connection, but the redhead was frowning in puzzlement and indicated for him to go on.

"Wally," Iris interjected softly, "don't you remember what happened in February 1990?"

Wally shrugged. "My parents died. What does that have to do with…" His eyes widened in shock. "You can't mean –"

Barry nodded gravely. "I'm afraid so, Wally. When I fought Zoom in Keystone City that day, we endangered hundreds of civilians. I tried to lead him away from the city, but he kept circling back around…" He closed his eyes and exhaled. "We didn't know it until later, but one of the cars Zoom overturned as he rushed by was your parents' car."

Wally stared at him, shaken. His face had gone pale under his red hair and his words of shock stuck in his throat. For a long, painful moment nobody spoke.

"But…but that's…impossible," Wally said finally, shaking his head. "I was in the car with them too – why don't I remember any of this?"

"Wally, you were nine years old," Iris responded gently. "No one is supposed to see such horrible things at that age. Is it any wonder you blocked it out?"

"You idolized the Flash," Barry concurred. "Seeing him having a role in your parents' death would have been too much to comprehend. The shock and the grief of the whole thing clouded your brain and repressed your memory of the incident. That's why you don't remember."

Wally shot to his feet, suddenly angry, not even noticing the sharp stab of pain from his ribs. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?" he demanded. "You knew Zoom was back, you knew what he did – but you didn't say a word! Didn't it ever occur to you to _mention _it, even once?"

"I was hoping Zoom's escape wasn't permanent," Barry explained. "The day your parents died I threw him into the Speed Force; he should have been trapped there forever. When I heard he'd gotten out I didn't want to believe it – I thought the Speed Force energy would eventually pull him back in." Here he lowered his gaze, ashamed. "If I didn't have to, I didn't want to burden you with the knowledge of what Zoom had done to you – what _I _had done."

Wally's anger cooled and he exhaled, wearily dropping back into the chair. "You didn't do anything, Uncle Barry."

"Not directly, perhaps, but I'm not blameless. I was speeding above safe limits that day as well. In my hurry to defeat Zoom, I didn't pay as much attention to my surroundings as I should have.

"There was a reason I quit being the Flash, Wally," he told him. "After that day, when I'd recovered and found out how many people had died…I knew I was indirectly responsible for all their deaths, and it was a heavy burden to carry. That's when I made the decision to retire from the hero business. I was getting older, I couldn't keep up as well as I did before – it was time to step down." He looked Wally in the eye. "I'm sorry Zoom's vendetta against me cost you your parents."

"Stop." Wally sighed. "Just stop. My parents' death wasn't your fault, and I don't blame you for it. I just want to know…" He bit his lip, hesitant.

"Know what?" Barry questioned.

Wally found it difficult to meet his uncle's gaze and instead stared at the floor. "If you knew what happened to my parents…why did you wait five years to take me in?"

"Wally…" Iris went to sit beside him. "Your father was my brother, but we were never close, and our relationship became even more estranged after he moved out of our parents' house. I hadn't seen or heard from him in years – I didn't even know he was married, let alone had a kid. As his closest living relative, the state department contacted me after they identified him – that was the first time I learned of you."

"But there was a mix-up at the records department," Barry added. "The authorities couldn't tell us what had happened to you. We knew you survived the accident, but we had no idea where you were or how to find you."

"But we looked," Iris said emphatically. "Wally, I promise you, we did look. We searched for months, followed every lead we could think of. When we couldn't find you, we thought we'd always have to wonder what happened to you."

"Yet all the while you were in Keystone," said Barry. "It was really only a stroke of luck that we finally did find you. Do you remember Ruth Lacey?"

Wally frowned, recalling another painful childhood memory. "Yes. She was that girl from the orphanage who was murdered in '95." Wally remembered the case well – Ruth had been a close friend of his.

"The Keystone City Crime Lab was undergoing a major overhaul at that time, and they had an enormous backlog of cases – so the case was transferred to the Central City Lab," Barry explained. "Imagine my amazement when I came to the orphanage to talk to the kids and was introduced to Wally West."

Wally managed a small grin. "Yeah, I remember that. I thought you were pulling my leg when you told me you were my uncle."

Barry chuckled slightly. Iris smiled.

"You got me out of there pretty quick," Wally added.

"How could we not?" Iris responded. "Once we found you, we couldn't sign the adoption papers fast enough."

"Thank you." The earnest gratitude was obvious in Wally's soft tone.

"It was our pleasure, Wally," Barry told him.

There was a slight pause, broken only when Wally puffed out his breath.

"So…" He looked at his uncle and aunt. "What do I do about Zoom?"

"Get the League in on it," Barry advised. "You can't stop Zoom on your own, Wally. You need to find out what he's planning for his revenge – knowing him, it'll be something science-based – and figure out how to stop it. Then you need to come up with a way to neutralize him."

"Easier said than done. I can't even keep up with the guy."

"You'll find a way. Zoom needs to be stopped, by any means possible."

"I hear you," Wally agreed. He rose slowly. "I should be getting back."

"Be careful, Wally," Iris cautioned.

"Watch your back," Barry warned, his voice serious. "Zoom's out for blood, and he won't stop until he gets it." His expression turned even graver. "And unfortunately, even though you've never met him before, he thinks you're his greatest enemy."

* * *

_**A/N: In case you haven't yet noticed, this story is almost as much about Barry as it is about Wally. XD**_


	9. Inside Investigation

_**A/N: Thanks to **pottyandweezlbe89, leathman,** and **Dextra2** for reviewing! I'm starting to sound a bit like a broken record in this thanking-the-reviewers area, but I hope you guys don't mind...and of course, keep reviewing!**_

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Inside Investigation**

"I know who the yellow Flash is," Flash announced. He had called for a meeting of all nine League members in order to update them on Zoom's identity and background. He'd had to think for a while about how to tell them what they needed to know without weaving in the connections to his past and the fact that Barry was his uncle, but he managed. Although, by the way Doctor Fate seemed to be looking at him – it was impossible to tell, under that helmet – the wizard already knew about Zoom's role in Wally's past.

"So what does he want?" Black Canary asked after Flash had finished explaining.

"Revenge," Flash replied.

J'onn inquired, "But why against you?"

"'Cause he thinks I'm the Flash he fought in the '70s and '80s."

"What do the thefts have to do with his revenge plan?" Batman questioned.

Flash shrugged. "Best guess – he's building something super high-tech and devastating, and possibly extremely dangerous too. But I haven't a clue what it could be."

"And he's faster than you?" Green Lantern clarified.

"Unfortunately."

"This is not good," Superman said. His brow was furrowed, his eyes troubled. "A villain that fast and that smart with a personal grudge against you…"

Everyone around the table sobered at the thought of such a lethal villain seeking revenge against Flash. They may not have known how old he really was, but they all knew he was the youngest amongst them, and naturally they all felt protective over him. The idea that Zoom wanted to murder him worried them all.

"We'll take it in shifts," Superman decided. Flash looked at him questioningly.

"Take what in shifts?"

"Watching your back. At any one time, someone will be near Central City to back you up if and when Zoom appears."

"That's going to overstretch us." Hal hated to point that out because he personally agreed with Superman's idea, but he felt he had to be practical as well. "There's only nine of us."

"What else can we do?" Wonder Woman asked. "We can't leave him unprotected."

"We can't neglect our other duties either," Batman pointed out.

"Zoom is extremely dangerous; Flash can't deal with him on his own," Hawkgirl argued.

"Nor will he," J'onn assured her. "But we cannot possibly be always on standby near Central – that is what the Watchtower is for."

"If I may," Doctor Fate interjected, drawing everyone's attention to him, "I was still part of the Justice Society when Zoom first appeared. I have had some experience with him. And since it isn't truly necessary for me to maintain an alter ego, I can keep an eye on Flash. Should he encounter any trouble, I can easily teleport to his location."

"I don't need a babysitter," Flash protested.

"You need someone to help you out in case Zoom shows up again," Green Lantern pointed out.

"Believe me, he will," said Doctor Fate.

"We need to take a closer look at everything he's been stealing," Batman announced. "If we know what the individual components do, we might be able to figure out what he's building."

"I can help you out there," said Superman. "Lois has been following the thefts zealously."

"Flash," said Batman, "I'd advise visiting the Central City S.T.A.R. Lab to find out more about the gravitational device that was taken from there. It was the first to be stolen, which leads me to think it's the most important part."

Flash nodded. "Gotcha." He checked his watch. "Shoot, I'm late for work. I'm sorry, I've gotta go." He dashed over to the teleport controls and keyed in his coordinates, then whizzed to the pad; an instant later, the blue light vanished him away.

Hawkgirl frowned. "Is it just me, or did he seem too eager to get away to you?"

"He was." Doctor Fate straightened in his seat. "This may be difficult for you to understand, but Flash did not have a happy childhood. He's only just discovered that Zoom was responsible for one of the greatest tragedies in his life. He needs time to take it in." As the others absorbed that, he added, "And no offense to any of you – but he doesn't trust you enough to tell you of it just yet."

* * *

After getting permission from Barry to 'investigate', Wally drove himself to the Central City S.T.A.R. Lab. It was clear that they had installed extra security since Mirror Master and Zoom had both broken into it on the same night.

"Hold it," said the man as Wally made to go in. He and his partner were both wearing dark business suits, sunglasses, and earpieces. If Wally didn't know better, he'd say they were part of the Secret Service. "Who are you and what's your business at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"Wally West, forensic investigator with the CKPD." Wally showed him his credentials. "I'm here to find out about the device that was stolen."

"I thought the case was moved out of the CKPD's jurisdiction and given to the CIA."

"Garmon, let him in. It's still their city." The woman who spoke had a slight, slender frame, but she still commanded respect. Her black hair was neatly clipped into a half-bun, and she was wearing a white lab coat over her cherry red blouse and black A-line skirt. She looked at Wally, acknowledging his presence with a bob of her head. "I don't know how it is with the other labs, but the Central City branch has always maintained close and cordial ties with the city government."

"Yes, ma'am," Garmon agreed, moving aside to let Wally pass.

"What's your name?" the woman asked as Wally approached her.

"Wally West."

"I understand you have some questions about the gravity field generator that we lost last week." She held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Tina McGee, head of the lab."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Wally greeted, shaking her hand.

"Is the CKPD still investigating this case?"

"Um…" Wally quickly came up with a plausible excuse. "Not exactly, but we're doing what we can to help. We're collaborating with the CIA on the science stuff." This wasn't strictly true, but Barry had enough contacts in the CIA to pull some strings if necessary.

"I see." Tina nodded. "Let's talk in my office."

Once Wally was seated opposite Tina at her desk, Tina started talking.

"We were commissioned to make a gravity field generator about three months ago," she explained. "We were told it was a high priority, but the information pertaining to the reason for its creation was classified as top secret."

"But aren't you head of the lab?" Wally asked in confusion.

"Of the Central City branch, yes," Tina affirmed. "But that only gives me a Level 6 clearance. Top secret means only people with the highest clearance – Level 8, or Level 7 in rare cases – are allowed access to that information."

"But if your lab is the one that's making the technology, shouldn't you be told what it's for?"

Tina shook her head. "That's not the way it works. S.T.A.R. Labs is a private government facility – we're told only what we need to know, no more, no less. It's to prevent anyone from knowing everything, because with the sort of research and experiments we do, knowledge can be too powerful."

"Doesn't that make the lab kinda difficult to regulate?"

"Not at all," said Tina. "It's a hierarchy – any lab head knows everything that anyone in their lab knows, but not necessarily what other lab heads know, and vice versa. Everyone knows something, but no one knows everything – even the highest Level 8's don't necessarily know what other Level 8's know."

"So there's really no single person who knows everything about everything in every S.T.A.R. Lab?" Wally questioned.

"None," Tina confirmed. "Those people with Level 8 clearance each have a specific sector of research under their control, and anything they know beyond that is courtesy of other Level 8's."

"So who's the Level 8 in charge of the research division that commissioned the gravity field generator?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Of course not." Wally changed track. "What can you tell me about the device?"

"Our scientists started work on it in late December," answered Tina. "We had a working prototype by February. The first round of tests proved it to be moderately successful, but there were several flaws we discovered in the function. We were in the middle of modifying the design when it was stolen."

"And what does it do, exactly?"

"Exactly what the name suggests. It creates a gravity field by charging subatomic particles in the air. Depending on the algorithm programmed into it, it can either amplify or alter a gravitational force on one particular object or sustain a general field of attractive force over a radius of two miles."

"How powerful is it?"

"We're not sure yet. The highest force we measured from it was approximately 20 newtons per kilogram of mass."

Wally whistled. "That's more than twice the gravity of Earth on objects at the surface of the planet."

"Indeed." Tina looked pleased that Wally knew enough physics to keep up with her explanation.

"Any idea what the government intends to do with it?"

Tina looked at him oddly. "Who says it's for the government?"

"Isn't it?" Wally was surprised. "I thought S.T.A.R. Labs worked for the government?"

"Not just for the government," Tina disagreed. "We work with other agencies as well, and these might be either partially or fully government-sponsored, but the government doesn't necessarily know everything about them – at least, not everyone in the government. But when these agencies assign us to undertake research and development projects for them, the government knows that they have commissioned us, but not always what they need the project for."

Wally looked dubious; he wasn't sure he liked where this was going. "The way you say it, you're making it sound as though the government doesn't have any control over what these agencies do."

"Don't worry, they do," Tina assured him. "They don't need to know everything to have control. That's what department heads are for."

"Hmm…" Wally looked thoughtful. "So which of these agencies commissioned the gravity field generator?"

"That's classified."

"Meaning you can't tell me, or you _won't_ tell me?"

Tina's lip quirked. "Both."

"This doesn't really give me a lot of information, you know," Wally complained good-naturedly.

"Look, even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn't. I'm only a Level 6 – projects like this are disclosed only to the Level 8's."

"Then who told you you were supposed to build the thing?"

"A Level 7 who was acting as a middleman between me and the Level 8 in charge of this."

"And the name of this Level 7?"

Tina's eyes glinted with something unreadable. "My husband, Jerry McGee."

* * *

_**A/N: Tina McGee - another familiar character from the Flash comics. She's pretty much as I described her here; go look her up if you want to know more.**_


	10. Fighting Flashes

_**A/N: My inbox received a sudden influx of reviews yesterday :D Thanks so much, **pottyandweezlbe89, Dextra2, EmperialGem21, 1Superman4Me, Kyer, balletangel19,** and **leathman**.**_

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Fighting Flashes**

Over the next two weeks, Zoom popped up in various locations many times, and each time Flash attempted to stop him. These fights never went well for Flash – twice, Doctor Fate had to step in for fear that if he didn't Flash would be killed. The other times, Zoom vanished after trading blows for a few minutes. It annoyed and worried Flash no end, and added to Barry and Iris' ever growing anxiety.

Meanwhile, Superman, Batman, J'onn, and Black Canary compiled information on Zoom's thefts and kept track of his frequent appearances in the hopes of establishing some sort of pattern. J'onn, as Detective John Jones, paid a visit to Jerry McGee – who was, for some reason, not on good terms with his wife and living in New York. Jerry gave J'onn the name of the Level 8 who had informed him of the project; but the man in question, Abraham Luntz, after he was tracked down and interrogated by Dinah Queen in Star City, was not in the least forthcoming with his answers. Though Dinah used all her feminine wiles and then came back again as Black Canary, Luntz absolutely would not talk. Canary was very indignant about it.

Batman took a more direct approach. Rather than question powerful people, he simply broke into Cadmus headquarters and hacked their computers, discovering some rather interesting information in the process. When he told Superman of this, the Man of Steel was shocked.

"Cadmus is working with Zoom?"

"No," Batman refuted. "But they were the ones who commissioned the gravity field generator from S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Why?"

"Clark, do you know what they have on their files?"

"How would I? You're the one who breaks into them, not me."

"They're making defense plans, Kent. Finding ways to use our weaknesses against us to neutralize us in case we ever cross the line. They've got a file for each of us – individually as well as collectively."

Superman looked horrified. "They know how to defeat everyone in the Justice League?"

"Not yet. But they're working on it. The gravity field generator was the first idea they had for Flash."

"Why?"

"If they tried to catch Flash, they would never be able to touch him. But Flash can't run if there's something pulling him down."

"So why does Zoom need the device?" Superman asked. "He's already faster than Flash."

"I don't think he needs it for Flash."

"Then what does he need it for?"

Batman was silent for a while. "I don't think we want to find out."

* * *

"Hey, Allen – I got the file you requested." Chyre walked over to where Barry was putting away bottles of chemicals.

"Thanks, Chyre." Barry accepted the file and flipped through it absently, scanning it. "This is all we got?"

"For now." Chyre leaned against the table. "What's with you?"

"What?" said Barry. "Me? Nothing."

"Bullshit," Chyre proclaimed inelegantly. "I've known you for twenty years, Allen – you've never been able to lie to me. Something's wrong."

Barry shrugged. "We all have our demons, Chyre."

"You're the most carefree man I've ever met in my life. What demons could_ you _be carrying around?"

Barry chuckled wryly. "If I'm carefree, what does that make you?"

"Shaddup, Allen. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But then don't expect me to haul your ass out of whatever trouble you land yourself in."

Barry grinned suddenly. "You did a lot ass-hauling back in the days, didn't you?"

Chyre snorted. "Yep – because some idiot never knew how to keep his fat mouth shut. I used to wonder whether you were actually two years older than me – you sure seemed hell-bent on proving you had the mental age of a teenager."

"Those were good times."

Chyre cracked a small smile. "Yeah, they were. We used to be such hot-tempered runts back then. Now look at us. In our fifties and still working criminals."

"You're still hot-tempered, Chyre."

"Don't I know it." He checked his watch. "When do you get off the clock?"

"I just finished my shift, actually. Why?"

"Want to grab a drink?" Chyre offered. "For old times' sake. I'll buy – I missed your fifty-fifth birthday, so I figure I can let you have a couple of shots on me."

"Why not?" Barry agreed. It would be good to get his mind off Zoom for a while. "Since you're paying." He hung up his lab coat and clocked out, unaware that someone was watching his every move.

* * *

When Pied Piper played his flute for the ATM to release its cash, he wasn't expecting to be greeted by the Flash halfway through collecting the bill notes the machine spat out.

"Look, I've been chasing fruitlessly after Zoom for two weeks," said Flash. "I'm stressed and cranky and bruised, so I really don't need you lot making trouble for me on top of it all."

"It's just business, Flash," responded Pied Piper.

"And normally, I wouldn't mind that much. But you seriously have the worst timing ever. And singing to an ATM? Seriously?"

Piper shrugged. "It works, doesn't it?"

Flash sighed longsufferingly. "Okay, you…" A high-velocity mass of kinetic energy slammed into him forcefully, interrupting him mid-sentence as it made him skid backwards, several miles away from Pied Piper and the ATM.

"You again!" Flash exclaimed.

Quicker than he could see, his assailant reached for his cowl and yanked it off his face. Flash yelped in astonished anger.

"What the hell do you think you're –"

"You," hissed Zoom, "are not the Flash I fought."

"Finally figured it out, did you?" Flash twisted out of Zoom's grasp, ignoring the sting of his bruised torso healing itself, and pulled his mask back on. "What tipped you off?"

Zoom snorted harshly. "I may not know who he is, but I've seen the previous Flash unmasked. You are not him."

"Got that right." Flash made a sudden, high-speed lunge to the side and jabbed a fist at Zoom's ribcage milliseconds before the yellow speedster spun out of reach.

"I had my suspicions when you weren't as fast as before," Zoom continued, dashing around Flash and slapping him painfully on the back. "Aging or no aging, the Speed Force would have kept your speed abilities more or less constant. But clearly…" He zipped in, out, and through, striking Flash on various parts of his body until the Scarlet Speedster was forced to his knees in pain. "You're much slower."

Flash groaned as his metabolism healed his injuries almost as fast as he received them. Instantly, he felt pangs of hunger gnawing at his stomach. Ignoring them, he rose slowly to his feet.

"I may not be as fast as the previous Flash," he said, "but I'm fast enough to stop you." Before Zoom had time to react, he put on a burst of speed and shoved the villain into a wall, pinning him against it by the arms. "Why have you been stealing all that technology? What are you planning to do?"

"You really have no idea, do you?" said Zoom. "With the weapon I'm building, even the previous Flash will not escape – not now that I know he's still in Central City."

_Now we're getting somewhere. _"So you're taking out your revenge on the whole of Central City?"

"Give the boy a prize." Zoom smirked. Flash pushed him harder.

"I won't let you."

Zoom let out a derisive bark of laughter. "And you think you can stop me?" In a blur of yellow, he was out of Flash's grip and behind him, his foot pressing the other speedster against the wall. "You can't even reach Mach 5!"

Flash tried to push against Zoom's foot, but to no avail. Time to try something new. He'd never done this before, but…

Taking a deep breath, Flash began to vibrate his molecules at supersonic speeds. Zoom's eyes widened in surprise as Flash melted through to the other side of the wall.

"Fine," he muttered. "Play it that way." In a second, he was streaking down the street.

* * *

Flash ran through the city, knowing Zoom was chasing him. His trick with the wall had bought him a little time, but Zoom would be catching up any minute now. Reaching up to his ear to use his comlink to contact Doctor Fate for help, he was startled to discover that it wasn't there.

"Crap…Zoom must have flicked it out when he pulled off my mask. Okay, okay…so I'm on my own…think, Wally." He sped through the roads, unaware that the tingling sensation he was feeling meant he was breaking into Mach 4, with greater ease and ability than the last time he'd done so. "Zoom's definitely faster and more experienced; whereas I'm slower, tired, and have no experience fighting someone as fast as I am." He cringed as his insatiable hunger made itself known once more; he would not be able to keep going much longer without food. "Not to mention extremely hungry from all the calories I'm burning up." _Stupid Zoom breaking my bones and making me walk through walls. _"But maybe I can outsmart him."

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a yellow streak trailing after him, getting closer every second, and causing unbelievable damage to the surrounding area.

_First things first: I gotta take him away from the city._

* * *

Flash managed to lead Zoom to a meadow some miles outside the borders of the twin cities before the villain caught up to him.

_Okay, Zoom, let's see if you know your tricks._

Digging into his pocket for the ice pellets Chyre had confiscated from Captain Cold earlier, he tossed them at the ground, freezing the grass right in front of Zoom into a layer of solid, slippery ice. Zoom cursed as he slipped at high speed and slammed into a tree, splintering the trunk in the process. While he tried to reorient himself, Flash dipped his hand into his pocket again, this time for his MP3 player. He set it to the most head banging song he had, turned the volume up to maximum, and stuffed the earphones into Zoom's ears. Then he broke a branch off the tree and whacked Zoom on the head with it multiple times.

At last, the yellow speedster lay silent and unmoving. Flash heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped to the ground. _Finally. I don't think I could have kept it up for more than –_

To his utterly horrified shock, Zoom shot up to his feet. A cruel grin twisted his lips. "My turn."

He twirled around Flash, spinning and spinning until the resulting tornado lifted Flash several hundred feet from the ground before suddenly stopping, letting the wind die; Flash plummeted to the ground with a sickening crunch that sent shockwaves of agony through his body.

Zoom picked up the branch and ran circles around the injured, exhausted Flash, walloping him everywhere, unheeding how hard he hit. Now that he knew this wasn't the Flash who was his archenemy, he didn't care if he killed him. Flash tried to fight back, but in his weary state he was no match for Zoom's ferocious onslaught. When the branch shattered, Zoom resorted to his fists and legs, punching and kicking and giving Flash the beating of his life.

Finally, Zoom ceased, observing his handiwork clinically. Flash was barely alive, heaving shuddering, laborious breaths. His body was broken and bruised and bleeding out of numerous cuts and lacerations.

"Well, if you're not dead yet," Zoom mused, "you will be in a few minutes. I suppose that's good enough." He glanced at his watch. "Oh, look at the time – I've an appointment to keep. See you around, Flash…or not." Zoom grinned maliciously and sprinted away.

Flash lay on the ground, struggling to hang on to consciousness. If he went to sleep now, he might never wake up.

_C'mon…I'm not…dying here…_ He had to admit, though, it sure felt like it. He couldn't feel his legs and he hurt in so many places he couldn't differentiate between the pain anymore. He had to find a way to contact the League, let them know what had happened…but how was he supposed to do that without a comlink?

His eyelids fluttered weakly as his hazy brain finally came up with the solution: call J'onn telepathically. Flash hoped to God the Martian was listening. With the last of his strength, he thought as hard as he could.

_J'onn, I need help. Fast._

He kept thinking it until he couldn't hold on anymore, and then he slipped into the inky black depths of his subconscious, dead to the world.

* * *

_**A/N: Uh-oh! What now? Find out tomorrow! (Yes, I'm evil XD)**_


	11. Delayed Disaster

_**A/N: Can you believe it? We're on the last third of the story already!**_

_**Anyway, thanks to** Dextra2, pottyandweezlbe89, A Guest, balletangel19,** and **Guest** (who I'm guessing is a previous reviewer who was too lazy to log in) for reviewing on yesteday's cliffhanger.**_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Delayed Disaster**

John Jones had been investigating a homicide on 89th Street when he felt a tug on his mind. Normally he 'phased out' his telepathic abilities when he was human, because it was too distracting otherwise – but after working closely with the other League founders for a year, he'd become attuned to their minds, and it was almost impossible to shut them out when they called to him. It was the same with Doctor Fate and Black Canary; though he was less accustomed to them, so his mental link with them was not as strong.

Recognizing the tug for what it was, John immediately dropped his telepathic barriers and allowed the mental voice to come through. It was Flash, and even over the mental link his voice was shockingly weak, not at all like its usual bouncy, energetic tone.

Turning to his colleague, John said hastily, "I have to go – something urgent has come up. Take over." Without waiting for a reply, he vanished around the corner and transformed into his Martian Manhunter form. "J'onn to Watchtower."

_"Watchtower acknowledges," _Wonder Woman's voice replied over the comm. _"What's the matter?"_

"Requesting immediate transport to Flash's current location."

_"Is something wrong?" _There was concern in her voice.

"That's what I need to find out."

* * *

Since they hadn't yet developed a system that allowed direct teleportation from one place on Earth to another, Wonder Woman had to beam J'onn up to the Watchtower before she could transport him to the outskirts of Central City. But there was still no sign of Flash. By now Flash's voice had faded from his mind, and J'onn was growing increasingly worried. Something was wrong.

"Diana, where is he?"

_"He should be right in front of you, a little to the right."_

J'onn glided forward, his orange eyes scanning the grassy landscape. His Martian blood froze in his veins when he caught sight of the crumpled, bloody heap on the ground.

"Flash!" He flew to his teammate's side, checking for a pulse, and was relieved to feel the rapid fluttering under his fingers. But Flash's heart appeared to be weakening – the pulse was not strong, and it was pumping too slowly for a man of his metabolism. "Diana, teleport us up now and prepare the med bay."

_"Flash is hurt?"_

"Badly."

* * *

Flash's heart gave out mere moments after Wonder Woman teleported them to the Watchtower. J'onn performed CPR while Diana sprang into action. She found the mobile defibrillator and brought it to the teleport pad.

"Stand back," J'onn warned. He placed the paddles on Flash's chest and shocked the young speedster. It took two more tries before Flash's heart sputtered back to life. J'onn discarded the paddles and picked him up.

"Don't we need to stabilize him before we move him?" Wonder Woman questioned.

"There isn't time," J'onn replied. "We'll have to take our chances." He carried Flash to the Watchtower med bay and set about hooking the unconscious hero to a myriad of machines to keep him alive. "I'll need your help, Diana," he said as he started working on treating Flash's many injuries.

"Anything," Wonder Woman agreed.

J'onn paused slightly, his hand pressing down on a long, vicious gash in Flash's leg.

"What is it?" Diana asked in concern.

"I will have to unmask him to treat him."

"Do it!"

Without further ado, J'onn peeled off Flash's torn and bloodied cowl to reveal a startlingly young face, unearthly white in pallor, and a tuft of bright red hair.

Diana was alarmed at how bony and gaunt Wally looked. Knowing something of how a speedster's metabolism worked, she grabbed a handful of IV bags filled with a glucose solution and connected them to the tube that fed into Wally's arm. J'onn nodded his approval.

"We will need more."

"I know." The sugary fluid in the IV bags was draining so fast it was hard to keep up.

While Diana tried to keep Wally supplied with the energy he needed, J'onn tended to Flash's injuries, starting with the most serious and working his way to the rest. It was hard to decide which wound to attend to first because Flash had so many potentially life-threatening injuries, so J'onn made good use of his shapeshifting ability and grew several extra arms so he could treat the speedster more effectively. When the IV glucose solution stopped disappearing so quickly, Diana was able to aid J'onn in his task, and for the next two hours both of them tended to Flash, cleaning and bandaging his wounds, stitching up lacerations, setting his bones, and giving him periodic transfusions to replace the blood he'd lost. By the time they finished, there was little of Flash's body that was not bandaged or wrapped in some way, and the full extent of his injuries could be observed.

"It must have been Zoom," Diana declared, anger sparking in her eyes. "No one else could have done this."

J'onn was fingering Flash's torn mask, still feeling slightly guilty that he had taken it off. It had been necessary, but he knew how precious a secret identity was, and he disliked having to do such a thing without Flash's consent. "We should inform the others."

Diana nodded. "I'll call them right now." She strode several paces, then paused just before the door. "J'onn…don't worry about his identity. We would've found out eventually, and this couldn't be avoided."

* * *

Clark had been reading through this morning's copy of the _Daily Planet _when his comlink tinkled in his ear. Setting the paper aside, he stood up and strode casually to the bathroom before answering.

"Superman."

_"We have a situation," _Wonder Woman's voice informed him.

"What is it?"

When she told him, he couldn't drop Clark Kent fast enough.

* * *

At the signal of his comlink, Hal hurriedly excused himself from where he was overseeing the flight training simulation of three new U.S.A.F. members.

_"Hal, we need you back on the Watchtower," _Wonder Woman said.

Hal groaned. "Can it wait? I'm kind of in the middle of something right now."

_"It's Flash."_

Hal stiffened. "What happened?"

_"Zoom attacked him. He's in a coma."_

"Shit," Hal swore. Screw the simulation; his best friend was hurt. "Beam me up."

* * *

It wasn't long before all the Justice League were on the Watchtower. J'onn took them to the med bay and appraised them of Flash's condition.

"His injuries were severe – he had lacerations and bruises all over his body, as well as several broken bones – in certain parts they were completely shattered. Internal bleeding was heavy and he has a bad concussion."

"Diana said he's in a coma?" Green Lantern inquired.

"What?" Hawkgirl whipped her head around sharply; this she hadn't heard.

J'onn nodded. "As I said, his injuries are severe. That, coupled with the critical lack of essential nutrients and energy and insufficient oxygen because of a collapsed lung, caused his brain to shut down to the extent that he became comatose. I am uncertain how long he will be unconscious."

"But he will wake up?" Black Canary asked.

J'onn hesitated. "He should – he's stable and his vitals are strong now –but I can't say when that will be. It could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks."

"And then there's the possibility that he won't wake up at all," Batman proposed.

They all stared at him. He stared back, unperturbed.

"Someone had to point out the obvious. It isn't something any of us wants to contemplate, but it could happen, however much we don't want it to." He glanced at Wally, then turned his gaze to Doctor Fate. "I thought you were keeping an eye on him."

"I'm afraid I was preoccupied earlier," the wizard replied apologetically. "A sorcerer named Felix Faust was wreaking havoc in Salem; it took Inza and me several hours to subdue him."

"How very convenient for Zoom," Batman commented.

"Quite."

"I hate to ask, but…should we inform his family?" Superman wondered. "Flash – I mean…gosh," he realized, "we don't even know his name."

"Wally West."

Superman glanced at Green Lantern. "Pardon?"

"That's his name," GL clarified, keeping his gaze fixed on his injured teammate. "Wally West. He works as a forensic investigator for the Central City PD."

"Flash? A scientist?" Black Canary was amazed.

"He's a smart kid," Batman said.

"He has red hair," Hawkgirl noted, her hand reaching up to touch her own scarlet locks. "It suits him."

"Hal, do you know his family?" Superman asked. "I hate to be the one to tell them about his life as Flash, but we should consider the idea that they should at least know what happened to him."

"Sorry, he never talked about his family," GL replied. "He only told me who he was three months ago. I know he has an uncle, but that's it."

Wonder Woman exchanged a glance with Doctor Fate.

"We know his uncle," Fate spoke up. "And it won't matter if you tell him that Wally is Flash – he already knows, as does his wife."

"Wally trusted them with his secret?" Superman was surprised. Wonder Woman smiled wryly.

"It would have been odd if he didn't," she said. "Wally's uncle is Barry Allen, the previous Flash."

"The JSA Flash?" Green Lantern looked from Wonder Woman to Doctor Fate.

"So you've worked with him," J'onn surmised.

"For over a decade." Doctor Fate nodded.

"Wait," GL interjected. "That means…that Wally's uncle is the one Zoom's really after?"

"Yes."

"He needs to know about this." Wonder Woman glanced at Wally's prone form. "I will tell him." She began to fly out, but Doctor Fate touched her arm.

"I will come with you. It was partially my fault that this happened."

"Don't say that, Kent – you couldn't have known."

"Nonetheless," he said, "Barry should hear it from me as well."

She nodded, and they headed for the teleporter.

"Do you think Zoom knows that Wally isn't the Flash he wants?" Black Canary asked.

"Without a doubt," Batman replied. "If he didn't, he never would have beaten Wally so badly."

"How do you figure that?" Superman inquired.

"Zoom's revenge isn't going to be something as mundane as killing Flash. From his thefts, and his vendetta, we can expect something more sophisticated – something that would affect Barry more than simply killing him. He wants Barry to see his revenge, know that he was the cause of it, and suffer from the guilt of it. If Zoom didn't know that Wally wasn't Barry, he wouldn't have risked killing him before he carried out his plan."

"Maybe he changed his plan," Green Lantern suggested. "Maybe he found out that Wally is Barry's nephew and decided to kill him to get to Barry."

"Maybe," Batman allowed. "But that would make his thefts irrelevant – and Zoom hates being irrelevant."

"Do you have any idea when we can expect Zoom to carry out his final revenge?" J'onn questioned.

"It will be soon."

"How soon?" Superman pressed.

Batman's expression became grimmer. "Very soon."

* * *

_**A/N: Yes, indeed - it IS soon. Only four more chapters to go!**_


	12. Hurtful History

_**A/N: Thanks to **pottyandweezlbe89, EmperialGem21, Dextra2, balletangel19,** and **leathman** for reviewing yesterday's chapter.**_

_**As you can probably guess from the chapter title, today we get more pieces of the Flash legacy in Diamond Earth.**_

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Hurtful History**

When Iris opened the door, she wasn't expecting to find two of her husband's former teammates outside.

"Hello, Iris," Doctor Fate greeted. "Is Barry here?"

"He's gone for a drink with a friend from the station," Iris responded. "Why? What's happened?" The solemn looks on their faces scared her for some reason she couldn't explain.

The superhero duo exchanged glances.

"You find Barry and tell him," Wonder Woman said. "I'll talk to Iris."

Doctor Fate nodded and flew off. Wonder Woman turned back to Iris.

"Iris," she began gently, "you may want to sit down. This isn't going to be easy to hear."

* * *

After fighting alongside him for over a decade, Barry's aura was easy for Fate to find with a locating spell. The wizard transformed himself back into Kent Nelson and stored his mystical costume pieces in a pocket dimension. Walking inconspicuously into the bar, he made his way over to where Barry was sitting with Chyre.

"Kent?" Barry said incredulously upon seeing his friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I need you to come with me. Something's happened."

* * *

The atmosphere on the Watchtower was tense and quiet as the remaining League members waited for Barry to arrive. Superman was looking through reports, trying to figure out what they should do next; Batman and Black Canary were at the computer console in the main monitor hub searching all global networks for information; Hawkgirl and Green Lantern were in the med bay, keeping a vigil by Wally's bedside and watching as J'onn checked the speedster's wounds and administered drugs.

"I'm not used to seeing him so fragile," Hawkgirl confessed quietly. "He looks like he's about to break."

"I know, it's way too quiet in here, isn't it?" Green Lantern sighed. He ran his eyes over Wally's still body, pausing as he spied a healed scar on Wally's chest beneath one of the bandages J'onn was lifting. "J'onn – is that healed already?" He sounded awed.

Hawkgirl smiled and remarked, "His metabolism is really wonderful."

But J'onn was shaking his head. "No, that's an old wound. The fresh one is still bleeding." He replaced the bandage carefully and checked Wally's blood count. "He may need another transfusion," he noted, half to himself.

"Wait a minute," GL interjected. "Wally's metabolism means he doesn't get permanent scars, no matter how serious the wound is. He told me so himself. If that's an old wound, why is the scar still there?"

"He must have acquired it before he got his powers." J'onn hesitated. "In truth, there are many scars like that all over his body. Diana and I saw them while we were treating him. Some are small, but others are quite large."

"But why does he have them?" Hawkgirl questioned.

J'onn shrugged. "I think Wally has a history none of us suspects."

This was a sobering thought, but none of them had any time to dwell on that, as at that moment the other Leaguers (sans Wonder Woman) came in, along with a blond-haired male with a worried crease in his brow.

"Wally," Barry breathed, gazing at his nephew in concern. He glanced at Doctor Fate. "It was Zoom?"

The wizard nodded. "I'm afraid so."

"What's his prognosis?" Barry was almost afraid to ask.

"He's in a coma at the moment, but there's no reason to believe it's permanent," J'onn said soothingly.

"But there's no guarantee that it isn't, is there?"

J'onn's silence spoke volumes. Barry ran his fingers through his hair, clearly agitated.

"I'm sorry," Doctor Fate said emphatically. "I know this is extremely trying."

"Does Iris know?"

"Yes." Wonder Woman nodded as she came in, just back from Earth. "I told her."

Barry sighed and shook his head sadly. "Wally doesn't deserve this. He's already been through so much."

"He has several scars all over his body from old wounds," Hawkgirl put in, seeing her chance to find out more. "Do you have any idea what caused them?"

Barry's face darkened. "I wish I didn't."

"Why?" Green Lantern asked. "What happened?"

Barry turned to look at them. "Did Wally ever tell you anything about his childhood?"

"No," replied Superman.

"Did he ever mention his family?"

"Just you," GL responded.

"You mean he never said anything about his parents?" Black Canary sounded surprised.

"Just because he told me his identity doesn't mean he trusted me with every little life secret."

"I know," Black Canary acknowledged. "It's just…you two are best friends…I thought he'd have at least mentioned his parents to you."

Green Lantern just shrugged.

"You're beating around the bush, Barry," Wonder Woman told him. "What are you trying to say?"

Barry inhaled and glanced around. "What I say here never leaves this station, got it?"

"You have my word," Superman promised.

"And mine," Wonder Woman put in.

Batman simply nodded.

"Wally's been an orphan since he was nine years old," Barry confided. "His parents died in a car accident caused by a battle between Zoom and myself."

His revelation stunned them, and they stared agape at him – except Doctor Fate, who already knew most of Wally's history.

"Wally was in the car when it happened, but he doesn't remember any of it," Barry continued. "He only knows it happened because I told him when he confronted me about Zoom two weeks ago." He paused. "But the reason for those scars – and the real horror of Wally's life – happened before the accident. Wally…" He trailed off, uncertain how to continue, then sighed. "Well, to cut a long and sordid story short, Wally was abused by his father*."

Muted exclamations of shock and outrage erupted from the Leaguers. Only Batman and Doctor Fate kept relatively calm.

"Good Lord," Green Lantern exclaimed.

"Why didn't he _tell _us all this?" Hawkgirl demanded.

"It's not something he likes to talk about, understandably," said Barry. "It took me several years and much coaxing to get him to confess the truth to me."

"I can't believe all that happened to Wally," said Wonder Woman. "He's always so playful and happy."

"Yes, thankfully," Barry agreed. "You'd never suspect how much pain he suffered in his past. Most people who grow up in his circumstances don't turn out the way he has."

"You and Iris must have had a hand in that," Doctor Fate offered.

"Maybe," Barry allowed. "But we only adopted him when he was fourteen. He lived in an orphanage for five years before that."

Hal snapped his fingers. "Is that the same orphanage he always visits? The Keystone City Orphanage?"

"Yes."

"Hang on, wasn't one of the kids there murdered a few years back?" Superman recalled.

"Ruth Lacey." Barry nodded. "I was on the case. It's how I found Wally."

"Did Wally know her?" Black Canary asked quietly.

Barry hesitated. "She was a close friend."

"Damn," Green Lantern muttered. "Poor Wally."

There was a beat of silence. It was hard to believe that their youngest teammate had more tragedy in his life than anyone else in the League, except perhaps Batman and J'onn.

At length Batman interjected, "We still need to decide how to deal with Zoom."

His statement reminded them all that Wally's past was just that – past – and they all had a pressing problem to deal with here in the present. The conversation took a whole different track.

"How _can _we deal with him?" Hawkgirl wanted to know. "Flash is the only one of us who would have even a hope of keeping up with him, and he's in a coma right now."

"There's another Flash standing right in front of us," Batman pointed out.

All eyes turned to Barry, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I will fight Zoom if I have to," he began, "but I honestly think the Justice League is better suited to do it. The last time we fought, nearly fifty innocent people died – including Wally's parents."

"None of us can run as fast as the Flash," Wonder Woman pointed out gently.

"Superman is almost as fast as I am."

"Key word being 'almost'," Black Canary stressed.

"Look," said Barry, "even without Wally, there's eight of you. I'm sure you can come up with something to fight Zoom without risking any civilians. If you really need me, I'm there, but I don't want people getting hurt because of me again."

Superman exhaled. "We'll try to think of something. I don't think there's much we can do until Zoom makes his move, anyway." He glanced at Batman, who shook his head in confirmation.

"Just be ready," the Dark Knight advised Barry. "We'll try to stop Zoom, but there's a very good chance that it'll end up coming down to you."

* * *

_***In comic canon, Wally was never abused. Though his relationship with his parents was more distant than it was with Barry and Iris, Rudolph West was a good man who loved his son. I honestly have no idea how the Rudolph-abused-Wally idea came around, but it's everywhere on fanfiction nowadays - it's literally fanon. However, the reason I chose to include it in Diamond Earth is because I like the contrast it provides to Wally's cheerful, optimistic, light-hearted nature, and it also gives his character much more depth and dimension. With this as part of his past, Wally becomes a shining example of how even the greatest of obstacles can be overcome, and shows that no matter how low life gets, it can always rise high.** _


	13. Anxious Anticipation

_**A/N: You know the drill - thanks to** ProxyMoron, pottyandweezlbe89, Dextra2, balletangel19,** and **leathman** for reviewing!**_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Anxious Anticipation**

For almost a week, the members of the Justice League waited for Zoom to strike. Superman was right; they could come up with strategies and battle plans, but there was really not much they could do until Zoom chose to show himself. They had no way of tracking him – although Batman was working on a device that would detect any human-sized mass traveling faster than a certain velocity – and they all agreed that using Barry as bait to draw him out was a bad idea.

Most surprisingly, Central and Keystone Cities remained relatively quiet of crime despite the absence of Flash. No one in either city, of course, could fail to notice that their heroic protector had seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth. When they found out this was literally the case (by virtue of Pied Piper reporting to the other Rogues how Zoom had so thoroughly defeated Flash and Chyre and Morillo eavesdropping on their conversation), and Flash was in the medical bay of the Justice League's Watchtower, the crime rate actually dipped slightly – because the Rogues, out of respect for their friendly foe as well as in the interest of their own rules concerning fair play, decided not to do anything too dastardly while Flash was gone. Indeed, if any ordinary crook tried to take advantage of Flash's absence and attempted to score a hit, the Rogues more often than not stopped them – reasoning that if Flash couldn't do the job, it fell to them, as his best enemies, to do some of it for him – and they weren't as gentle as Flash by any means. Thus Flash's twin cities remained relatively peaceful during his absence.

As for the lack of Wally West, that was easily remedied. Barry put it about at the station that Wally was sick with a severe bout of flu in order to explain his nephew's absence. Barry himself visited the Watchtower almost every day to see Wally – once or twice Iris accompanied him – but he tried to stay out of the League discussions.

"Truth be told," he confided to Doctor Fate on one occasion, "I'm afraid to take the role of the Flash again. I'm still as fast as ever, and I could never forget the skills I learned with the JSA – but…" He sighed. "People do get hurt if I'm not careful, Kent. Zoom's always brought out the worst in me. I'm afraid that if I fight him again…I won't know where to draw the line."

"We all face that dilemma at one point or another," Doctor Fate said reasonably. "After a certain amount of time in this work, one begins to question whether one is truly fit to be a hero. You were with us when it happened to Ted and Alan."

Barry smiled wryly. "At the time, I couldn't imagine why they were questioning their worth to the team. I was young and naïve and overconfident in my own abilities, and I thought everyone, by default, should be as well. Now I understand why they thought the way they did. I know why Ted doubted his innate abilities when everyone else had more tangible powers, and why Alan couldn't use his ring for a while because he didn't believe he was fit to wear it." He looked thoughtful. "Funny thing is, I don't remember you or Diana reaching that point."

"I approached and conquered my stage of self-doubt before the Society," Fate replied. "But you're right – Diana hasn't been tested to that point yet. It's possible she never will, but in some way or other, she too will eventually face that ultimate question. It happens differently to everyone, but happen it does. The true mark of a hero is their ability to conquer the greatest enemy of all."

"Which is?"

"Themselves."

* * *

Barry wasn't the only one having doubts. Practically everyone in the League was experiencing the gnawing pressure of uncertainty – uncertainty about when Zoom would strike, uncertainty about what would happen when he did, uncertainty about whether they could defeat him, and worst of all, uncertainty about whether Wally would wake up. Although J'onn had said that he didn't know when Flash would regain consciousness, they'd all thought it would happen within a couple of days. But the days dragged on, and Wally still showed no sign of waking. It was enough to unnerve even Batman (though of course, he wouldn't show it).

Hawkgirl was the one most affected. She saw Flash as her little brother, and the stress of waiting was getting to her. Being from a military planet, she needed an outlet to release that stress through violence. That was why Green Lantern found her one day smashing the stuffing out of the robots they used in training simulations.

"I know those things are quite hardy and easily fixed, but you don't have to completely annihilate them," he told her.

"It makes me feel better." Hawkgirl savagely swung her mace at another robot, totally ripping apart its inner circuits. Looking around for more, she saw that she had effectively killed every robot in the room. She exhaled. "Hal."

"What?"

She hesitated. "He _is _going to wake up, right?"

Green Lantern paused for only a heartbeat before he responded, "Yes."

Hawkgirl grunted. "It's a nice sentiment, but you can't know that for sure."

"No," he admitted. "But I believe it."

"Do you really?"

"Yes." His face was absolutely serious. "I know you're not a religious person, but sometimes faith is all you have to go on."

* * *

For his part, J'onn was spending every spare minute aboard the Watchtower, taking upon himself the majority of the responsibility for monitoring and treating Wally. Every day he checked the speedster's vitals for any changes, and kept him supplied with nutrients and medicine. The Martian Manhunter remained as stoic as ever, but inside he too was worried. The League had become his second family, and to lose anyone would be heartbreaking.

* * *

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Black Canary preferred to channel their nervous energy into strategizing tactical plans and producing a machine that would, theoretically, lock on to Zoom's signature and siphon extra kinetic energy off his molecules, thus reducing his speed. Unfortunately, it was highly unstable and had an alarming tendency to malfunction whenever they tried to test it on Superman.

"This is never going to be a reliable countermeasure," Black Canary said in disgust, throwing down the connecting cables after the machine had failed to function properly for the fifth time.

"Never say never," quipped Superman.

"Optimism's all very well and good, Superman, but we need results. Batman knows this is not gonna be ready in time."

"If that's the case," said Wonder Woman, "why are we still working on it?"

"Because," Batman replied, looking up from resetting a program code, "it might work, and it's the only viable method we have of slowing down Zoom without a Flash."

* * *

Zoom finally made his move at the end of the week, on April 19th. Barry reported that the villainous speedster had set up an ominous looking device in the Central City Park and was broadcasting his image over all the TV's in the city. Superman immediately found the right frequency and brought the live footage up on the Watchtower's monitor.

_"Greetings, citizens of Central City," _said Zoom's voice on the screen. _"My name is Professor Zoom. You may just call me Zoom. Some of you already know me, but there is one person in particular I'm speaking to." _The villain looked straight at the camera, almost seeming to stare right through the TV screens. _"Yes, Flash, I'm talking to you. I don't know your name, and I don't know exactly where you are right now – but you know who you are, and you know that what's about to happen is your fault."_

The camera panned to a view of the machine in the park. _"I built this, Flash, with the parts I stole. It's a gravity implosion generator. Basically, what it does is it emits an energy pulse that rapidly alters the Earth's gravitational field over a certain area. Now of course, the Earth's gravitational field isn't meant to be altered so violently and so quickly, so what happens is that the fluctuating gravity causes a massive shockwave that will rip apart the molecules of everything and everyone in the target area."_

Here Zoom paused for dramatic effect, the epitome of supreme indifference. _"Of course, you being…well, _you_…your molecules are used to high levels of kinetic vibrations, so this won't affect you. However, I can guarantee that it will destroy the whole of Central City." _As an afterthought, he added, _"And possibly Keystone as well. Who knows? I wasn't very meticulous about my radius calibrations." _He let loose a harsh bark of laughter.

_"Well, this will be a great pleasure. Behold my revenge, Flash." _The broadcast terminated.

* * *

_**A/N: Right, now prepare yourselves for tomorrow's chapter!**_


	14. Reversed Roles

_**A/N: Sorry for the late update, folks - crazy day today. Anyway, thanks to my reviewers **Aedien, Dextra2, balletangel19, EmperialGem21, Invader Abigail,** and **leathman**. Also thanks to those of you who gave me some input on Wally and Rudolph's relationship in the comics. And last but not least, kudos to **_**leathman**_** for spotting the theme of the chapter titles - I'm glad you think it's clever, because some of the names were difficult to come up with.**_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Reversed Roles**

The Justice League's reaction was instant. Aside from Hawkgirl, who volunteered to stay to monitor Wally, every Leaguer was on the transport pad and had teleported to Central City within two minutes of the broadcast. They materialized just across the road from where Zoom was tinkering with his gravity implosion generator.

"Like we planned," Batman instructed as they separated to take different routes to the park. The energy-siphoning machine was far from ready, so they would have to do this manually, using the strategies they had thought up.

The first move was Batman's. He took Zoom by surprise by flinging a batarang at the speedster, followed by a couple of smoke grenades. Though initially unbalanced by the batarang, Zoom quickly recovered his wits and spun a tornado to whisk away the smoke…only to be met by Green Lantern's glowing energy construct. Zoom narrowly avoided getting trapped by the Lantern, and the sphere of willpower that would have imprisoned him ended up ensnaring Batman instead.

At this point Black Canary stepped out from behind a bush and let loose a ringing canary cry. Zoom clapped his hands over his ears and nimbly escaped her scream by accelerating beyond the speed of sound. In the blink of an eye, he was over by the bush and knocking Canary out cold. J'onn rose through the ground and grabbed Zoom firmly from behind, but Zoom started vibrating his molecules so hard the Martian Manhunter was forced to let go with a cry of pain. This was accomplished much faster than the League had anticipated, so Wonder Woman's charge from the air was too late to catch Zoom, who whizzed past her fist and slammed into Green Lantern.

…Or, he would have, had Superman not got in the way. The Man of Steel put an effective crimp in Zoom's plans by using his own speed (and his indestructible body) to block the speedster's punch. Zoom yelped in anger and pain and immediately took off in the opposite direction. Superman chased after him, keeping pace easily.

Zoom glanced over his shoulder. "You're fast, Superman," he called, "but I'm faster." He increased his speed, moving from Mach 1 to Mach 4, leading Superman on a merry circuit around the park. No matter how fast he was, the Kyrptonian couldn't keep up with an enemy who consistently traveled so high above the speed of sound, and Zoom was eventually able to run up behind Superman, who had deliberately stopped at one point in the circle.

Ice, courtesy of Batman, suddenly spread over the ground directly in front of Zoom, blocking his path to Superman. Unable to stop, Zoom skidded alarmingly on the slippery surface, coming to a halt only when Superman grabbed his legs.

"Now!"

At the Man of Steel's signal, Green Lantern once again – successfully this time – enclosed Zoom in a green prison.

"This isn't going to hold me," Zoom informed him, already starting to vibrate within the containment.

Green Lantern smirked at him. "It doesn't have to."

Right on cue, Doctor Fate descended from above, all ready with a stasis spell. Just as Green Lantern's construct broke from Zoom's efforts, Fate cast the enchantment over Zoom, locking his limbs in place and barring any further escape attempt.

Wonder Woman frowned. "Is it just me," she asked, "or was that too easy?"

"Too _easy_?" Black Canary groaned as she limped over, massaging her head. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No, Diana's right." Batman's eyes narrowed. "Zoom can travel at Mach 8 and above. If he really wanted to escape, he wouldn't have run so slowly."

"How clever," Zoom congratulated mockingly. Though Doctor Fate's spell constrained his arms and legs, his mouth was left free. "But you're right, of course. I don't see the point of expending precious energy to escape you…because that beautiful machine in the middle of the park is going to implode the gravity field here in less than a minute – not enough time for you to teleport back to your space tower, I'd imagine." He smirked. "You'll die with the city, but I'll be totally unaffected." His voice took on a darker tone. "And then I will find the only other living person in this wreck and finally kill him."

Before the Leaguers could respond, a familiar voice said quietly, "No, you won't."

Flash walked into view, prompting a malicious grin from Zoom.

"Flash?" Green Lantern said in surprise.

"No," Batman refuted. "Not our Flash." Blue eyes peered back at him from the lens-less cowl, confirming his deduction. This Flash was not Wally West.

Zoom instantly recognized his old enemy. "Well, well, the prodigal Flash crawls out of hiding. Have you been enjoying the show?"

Barry looked Zoom straight in the eye, utterly resolute. "I'm not letting Central City be destroyed because of your mad quest for revenge against me."

"You don't have choice," Zoom sneered. "That machine begins its work in exactly three…two…one…"

On cue, a great spiral of bright yellow energy shot into the sky. Almost immediately, gravity began acting up, lurching in all directions, tossing people, cars, and other objects up, down, and sideways.

"You're too late, Flash!" Zoom crowed as the Leaguers fought to stay upright. "It's started. In a matter of minutes, Central City will be no more!"

Automatically leaning first one way and then another in order to compensate for the changing gravitational pull, Barry turned to gaze at Zoom's machine. His eyes travelled to the energy beam disrupting the Earth's gravity field, and he knew what he had to do.

Wonder Woman noticed his firm gaze. "Flash?" she asked hesitantly. She had to remind herself not to use Barry's name because Zoom was right next to them.

Amid the pitching motion of gravity, Barry met her eyes. "I can stop it."

Zoom narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what his nemesis was up to. "You'll die before you manage to generate enough kinetic energy to counter the energy flow from the machine."

"That's why you're going to help me." Barry caught the handcuffs Batman tossed him and dragged Zoom to the machine, then promptly shackled his wrist to it.

"If you expect me to help you stop this, you're even stupider than you look."

"You don't have a choice." Barry's voice was steel. "Now that you're strapped to the machine, your molecules will automatically vibrate to counter the action of the machine so that you'll survive. That combined with your mass will add kinetic energy whether you want it to or not. And the faster I run, the greater the exchange of kinetic energy between me and you, and the faster your molecules will vibrate. Think of yourself as a gear in a machine, increasing my mechanical advantage."

Zoom scowled. "You're going to take us both down without accomplishing anything. My molecules aren't going to pick up on your kinetic energy because there's no connecting conduit between us."

Barry stretched his limbs. "We're both connected to the Speed Force, and we've even travelled through it together. That's enough of a connection…especially if I break the lightspeed barrier."

"You can't go that fast!"

"I can try." Barry cast a look back at the Leaguers, pausing to gaze at Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate, his old teammates. Despite being pulled and shaken in all directions, both managed to focus on him. Wonder Woman's eyes were suspiciously bright, and Doctor Fate gave him a solemn nod.

_"It's been an honor, Barry."_

Barry managed a brave smile at the sound of the wizard's voice in his head. _"Same here. Tell Iris and Wally…"_

_"They know." _Fate paused slightly. _"But I will."_

_"Thanks." _

His message delivered, Barry began running in the opposite direction from the energy spiral. With every circle he made around the machine, he picked up speed, until he was nothing but a red blur of movement surrounding the machine. As he continued running, the energy spiral began to sputter and slow, as did the disruption to Earth's gravity.

Electricity not quite of human nature began to gather around Barry's form, streaking with him and adding a white-blue tinge to the circuitous red whirl. By now the energy from the machine was no longer sufficient enough to disturb the gravity field, so gravity returned to its normal function. But Barry had to keep running until all the energy was negated, so he did…increasing his speed all the while. Everything within his circuit took on an unearthly glow – the machine, Zoom, Barry himself – and started fading from sight. Still Barry kept running.

Finally, on his thousandth or so circuit, a small explosion erupted from within the circle. When the dust had cleared and the light had dwindled, both Zoom and the machine had disappeared…as had Barry.

The Leaguers made their way to that site and stood there for a few minutes, silently paying their last respects to the second Flash to run on Earth.

* * *

The second thing Wally became aware of upon regaining consciousness was Hawkgirl's voice coming from somewhere above him, sounding anxious and relieved at the same time.

"_Yom shigureth_! Wally! Wally, can you hear me? Wally, if you can hear me, open your eyes, please."

She sounded so strange – a mixture of scared and excited – so he complied with her request. Laboriously forcing his eyelids open, he stared blearily at her worried face.

Hawkgirl's face lit up as she let out her breath in a relieved huff. "_Ichthul_. Wally, thank goodness you're okay."

Somewhat bewildered, Wally nonetheless obligingly submitted to the hug she subjected him to. Searching the room for Barry and feeling even more confused when he didn't find him, Wally thought back to the first thing he'd become aware of, wondering if he'd just imagined the words he thought he'd heard his uncle say just before he woke up.

_Be well, Wally._

* * *

**_A/N: And that's that. I hope the climatic battle lived up to your expectations even if it didn't quite bring in the elements you were hoping for, and I hope Barry's death properly put across the emotion I wanted to convey._**

**_ Join me tomorrow for the denouement and final chapter of this Flash story._**


	15. Wally West

_**A/N: And so here we are on the fifteenth and final chapter of this story. Two weeks has just flown by, hasn't it?**_

_**Right, so...thanks to **EmperialGem21, Invader Abigail, leathman, pottyandweezlbe89,** and **balletangel19** for reviewing on the last chapter. Additional thanks to **leathman**, who's reviewed every single chapter, as well as to **Dextra2, pottyweezlbe89,** and **balletangel19**, who all didn't miss a single chapter review (except for one solitary exception) once they found this story.**_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Wally West**

Wally made his way slowly to the simple headstone. It was a beautiful morning in Central City, bright and cool and breezy…but Wally was finding it tough to appreciate the beauty right now.

"Hi, Uncle Barry." If his voice sounded strange, it was because it was spectacularly difficult squeezing the words past the lump in his throat. His hand brushed against the gravestone, tracing the words in the inscription.

_Bartholomew Henry Allen  
March 19, 1948 – April 19, 2003  
The true meaning of speed is knowing when to slow down_

Wally wondered who'd come up with that pithy truism – _probably Doctor Fate, _he mused. At least it set apart Barry's epitaph from the numerous _'Beloved husband, son, and brother'_s occupying the rest of the graveyard – which was important to Wally, because his Uncle Barry had been one of a kind, the Fastest Man Alive.

Wally suddenly realized, with an unpleasant jolt, that _he_ was now officially the Fastest Man Alive. The thought hurt.

It wasn't like he hadn't suspected what had happened. When he'd woken up from his week-long coma and heard Barry's voice without Barry being in the room, he'd had an inkling that something was not right. But suspecting that something had happened and actually being told by Superman that Barry had died were two entirely different things.

What made it worse was the fact that Barry had died doing Wally's job – because Wally had been unable to be the Flash and stop Zoom's machine, Barry had had to step up, and it had cost him his life. Wally felt responsible for Barry's death – he was angry at himself for not being fast enough to keep Zoom from putting him in a coma, and therefore not able to fulfill his responsibility as the Flash when it mattered most.

He spilled all this to Barry's gravestone in shaky, halting speech.

"If I hadn't been so damned _slow_…" Wally spat out the word like it was venom, "…you would still be here." Never mind that Wally himself would be the one lying in his grave…or not, as the case was. Barry's coffin was empty, since he had literally vanished into thin air. Automatically, his eyes were drawn to the adage on the headstone. _The true meaning of speed is knowing when to slow down._

"That wasn't a time to slow down," Wally muttered bitterly. He sighed. "I know you would tell me that it's not my fault, that I couldn't have done anything – but it is, and I could have. If I had just been able to run faster…"

But that was the sad fact of life, wasn't it? 'What if's and 'If only's only showed you the better option after you had passed it by. You could dwell on them all you wished, but they would never bring back the choice once it had gone. All you could do was make the best of the path you had chosen, and try to avoid any roads that could potentially cause more regrets.

Wally closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his moment of self-loathing over with. "I just…miss you." He wiped away the tears that trailed down his cheeks. "Like, I _really _miss you. I want to turn back the time, take your place as the Flash that died…"

He imagined his uncle's voice reproaching him and managed a half-hearted snort. "Yeah, you wouldn't agree with that, would you? I know, I know…what's past is past, and all that's left is the future. _Que sera sera_." His brief instant of levity faded as his sorrow made itself known again. "You weren't supposed to die so soon, Uncle Barry. You were connected to the Speed Force…you should've had years and years – decades – ahead of you." He ran his fingers through his red hair, combing out the knots the wind had blown it into. "But I guess that's the price we pay for being heroes. Sometimes we don't make it back."

Giving up on taming his messy locks, Wally dropped his hand. "I'll do my best to move on, Uncle Barry. I promise I will…eventually. And for your sake, I'll try not to blame myself for your death. But don't expect it to happen right away…it's gonna take some time."

Again, he glanced at the inscription on the gravestone. _The true meaning of speed is knowing when to slow down._ Was it just him, or was that saying getting more and more apt every time he looked at it?

Sighing, he straightened and started to make his way out of the graveyard. As he approached the entry gate, he accidentally bumped against someone who was coming in.

"Sorry," he mumbled, head still bowed.

"It's okay." The voice was so sympathetic and understanding, Wally looked up. His conversationalist was a young woman with medium-length black hair and warm brown eyes. "My condolences to you."

Her statement threw him for a moment. "Sorry?" he said again, questioningly this time.

"For whoever you lost," she clarified.

"How'd you know I –"

"You're walking out of a graveyard," she pointed out with a small smile. "And from the look on your face, I can tell it was recent."

"You're good," Wally muttered.

"Not really. Just been coming here too many times for too long." She paused. "So…who was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

For the second time in as many minutes, Wally was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Who'd you lose?" she repeated. "For me it was my dad – he died when I was twelve, which is why I've been visiting the graveyard for so long. You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to," she added, catching sight of his expression. "But it helps to talk about these things – and sometimes it's easier to talk to strangers than to people who know you."

"Yeah, I guess…" Wally sounded unsure.

The woman gazed at him for a moment before saying, a little awkwardly, "Okay, you don't want to talk. That's fine. I'm just gonna go visit my dad…"

"My uncle."

She paused five steps ahead of him. "Pardon?"

Wally sighed, running his hands through his windswept hair for the umpteenth time. "I lost my uncle. It was a couple of days ago."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "Were you close?"

"Yeah," Wally admitted.

She hesitated a little before speaking her next words. "If it helps, I'm sure he'd be proud of you."

Wally blinked. "How would you know?"

She shrugged. "Something about you, that's all. You have a certain air around you. I get the feeling that you're a very responsible, compassionate kind of guy – the stuff heroes are made of, you know?" She laughed nervously. "I know, it's stupid. But that's just the vibes I'm getting from you."

"You seem to be pretty good at reading people," Wally noted.

"I'm a reporter. It's sort of my job to read people." She offered him her hand. "I'm Linda, by the way. Linda Park."

"Wally West." He shook her hand.

"Ooh, alliterative," Linda said with a wink.

Wally actually smiled for the first time since Barry had died. "That's me," he said good-naturedly.

"Well, Wally, I'd like to chat some more, but my dad's waiting for our weekly appointment, and I'm already late. Maybe I'll see you around here some other day."

"Maybe," he agreed.

Linda smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Wally." Then she went on her way.

Wally watched her go, feeling more peaceful after their conversation. "Likewise," he whispered.

_The true meaning of speed is knowing when to slow down. _

Now he got it. He was the Fastest Man Alive, but he would take this new stage in his life the only way he could – one step at a time. He would do his best to carry on Barry's work, and Jay Garrick's work – he vowed to live up to what it meant to be a speedster, and what it meant to be a Flash.

It was, after all, his legacy.

* * *

_**A/N: And that makes four Diamond Earth stories complete :) The next Tale of Diamond Earth is another Justice League fic, entitled **The Witch's Brew** - starring Zatanna and Batman. Synopsis is on my profile. I can't say for sure when I'll be able to post it, because I'm now in college, which eats up like nine hours a day - but it will definitely be this year! :D **_

_**Thanks for reading! Till next time!**_


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